Holy Knight
by kaityjane24
Summary: Marina May was born with a powerful quirk. She has snow white wings that allow her to go places many can't. She also has the ability to summon holy weapons to fight off her foes. Even with this ability her life has been anything but easy. Due to her hellish mother and the loss of her loving father, Marina flees America to go to UA. She is determined to find happiness.(BOLD REMOVED)
1. Chapter 1

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 1: The Entrance Exams **_

Today was the day. It was the day of the UA entrance exam. I was so incredibly excited. Along with the excitement was a giant pit in my stomach of nerves and fear. The pit grew with every step I took towards the school. The school was so big you could see it from blocks away, which made the anticipation start to take over my whole body quicker than I would have liked.

'_Do not puke. Do not puke__.'_

I did not handle my nerves well on the inside. My face would not betray me, but nothing could control the bile in the back of my throat from rising. Seems like a great idea to try and become a hero, am I right? I guess we all have our own reasons, and I'm no exception to that rule.

My name is Marina May. I am new to Japan. I traveled all the way from the United States just to get a chance to go to UA High. Sure, America had their own hero courses, but what they didn't have was an All Might for a teacher. The rumors have been souring around high society America that he was going to be a teacher at UA this year, and I hate to say it, but I'm a crazy hero fan girl. When you've had a shit childhood like me you find joy in people who are true heroes. That's exactly what All Might was, and I couldn't wait to be just like him. I was going to be the greatest hero there ever was. I am going to be the one who fills hearts and bring about complete peace, and that all starts today.

'_Omg I'm going to puke__.'_

As I walked into the school, I started to realize just how crazy this really is. There were thousands of kids all running around. Most of them screaming with complete determination in their voices. Challenges amongst friends were initiated with each other. All these students with the same goal as me, to be the number one hero.

'_How the hell am I going to do this__.'_

The nerves started to come to a peak as we rolled up to giant walled off zones. It would seem that we were going to separate into smaller groups. That would make it a little easier getting through the obstacles that clearly had to be inside these zones. I took a deep breath, in and out. Finally, my mind came to a calm and prideful place. My blue eyes slanted into thin slits and my mouth broke into a full scandalous grin. I even threw my long blonde hair over my shoulder determinedly.

'_Let's get shit done__.'_

That's right. This is going to be mine. No matter the person, no matter the quirk. Their ass is grass. I have trained way too long and have become much too strong to let anyone stop me now. This was the day people would truly see Ms. Marina May.

'_Today is the day__.'_

I was placed into Battle Center B. My mind was too zeroed in on just looking straight ahead that I didn't observe anyone that was put into the group with me. All that was in my ears was a light buzz from the tinnitus I received due to all the smashes to the head during trainings…or the random street fight from strangers who didn't know their place. Don't worry though. Those days were over now, hero remember.

My mind finally snapped to when I heard Present Mic screech into the mic the rules of the exams,

"As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this! Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center.

You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilizing the faux villains. The weaker the enemy the lower the points. This is except the zero-point boss. We recommend you treat him as an obstacle you go around."

'_Ten minutes to go all out and rack up as many points as possible…'_

"There are no countdowns in real fights! Run, run!" Present Mic shouted into the microphone.

My legs did as they were commanded. I started sprinting into the training grounds. I quickly started to size up the training grounds. It really was a small city. Buildings twenty floors ups, the perfect vantage point. It was time to start showing what my quirk was really made of. In mid dash I let out a small sigh as my back started to tense up. Almost quicker than the average eye could see, two snow white wings grew behind me.

To be honest, this was my true form, but I kept them hidden in public for confidence. At the age of 5 I woke up in terror screaming having felt this horrible pain in my back. It truly felt like someone has taken a sword and made to slashes in my back to cut me down and leave me for dead. There was blood everywhere, but most of my vision was blurred from the tears that had yet to fall from my eyes.

"Mommy! Mommy please! I need help!" I screamed.

She didn't come. Just like many nights before and many nights after. My mother only cared about herself and felt she had raised me well enough to leave me alone even at the age of 5. Luckily for me this led to me being incredibly self-sufficient. I was already out on my own now. I had filed all the paperwork back in America for my emancipation. Therefore, I was able to move myself out here to Japan. My father had left me enough money to get by after his death. My father and mother never married so she couldn't get her hands on my money. Not that she needed a penny, but for the control over me. There was enough that I could live affordable for the remainder of my high-school days without having to ever call her, but even that well would dry up. This wasn't my main motivation for being a Pro Hero, but it sure helped with my pursuits.

After a couple years of ruined clothes and many, many ice baths, I learned how to control my wings. Even to the point where they didn't bleed when they came from my body. I fancied them quite a bit. I pretty much always had them out at home. Luckily when you live at home alone clothing is optional, so I pretty much just let my wings fly. I was able to hold myself in the air on them for extended periods of time. It'd been a long time since I ever felt the need to rest them.

With my wings on full display and my shirt still hanging on, I wore a backless halter top, I quickly made my way to one of the many roofs. The one I had chosen had a nice view of a park like setting below. My wings had gotten me there faster than many of the other kids, with only a few on my heels, so all the enemies down below were mine.

'_One…..two…three, four, and five__….'_

There were five enemies total. One 3 pointer, one 2 pointer, and lastly 3 one pointers. These enemies were just basic looking robots. I wouldn't even call them androids. So really no thought had to go into my decision making here, just sheer power, and sheer power I could handle.

I took a few quick strides to the edge of the building, my wings opened wide to make sure no gust of wind took me by surprise. I lifted my left hand high into the sky.

"Holy Bow." I barley spoke.

Sometimes when I summoned one of my holy weapons, I would like to make a whole show out of it. Think sailor moon getting into her sailor gear. Even going into drastic "Hero" poses as the weapon would manifest in my hand, but I had no time today. The other students were gaining fast on my heels.

There was a blinding white light that appeared in my hand. If you were anyone but me the light would have put off a heat that was unbearable, but for me it always warmed my soul to the core. Maybe because it was a part of my soul? If you even believe in that kind of thing. The warm light started to fade into something tangible.

What appeared was a light golden bow. Though Tangible, there still seemed to be an unearthly glow to it. I felt the wait of the bow in my hand only for a second before I slowly drew back the string and pointed it down in the park. This was going to be a slightly wasteful move, but Present Mic said we would only be fighting for 10 minutes, so I really could be wasteful and show off a little.

As I finally pulled the string all the way back a giant arrow of the blinding white light from earlier appeared, ready to be fired.

I breathed in slowly and slowly released.

"Boom."

The arrow flew out of my bow. Only at the very moment the arrow left the bow, it turned into over a hundred tiny arrows. The arrows were quick. The robots barely even looked up as the hundreds of light arrows decimated the park. The robots, the trees, the bark benches, and even the sidewalks lit up. The sounds of metal exploding filled all the air. Even from my distance I could hear nothing else. A smoke cloud appeared and started to fill up the park.

'_On to the next spot I guess__.'_

This was how the rest of the Entrance Exam went for me. I just leaped from roof to roof. That was the last time I used my barrage of arrows. I just decided on doing quick little one shots from my bow. I easily racked up points quick and fast. It was over before I knew it. I avoided all the other students the whole time. My quirk didn't really need help from others, so I just avoided them. I was at a distance when a giant robot appeared across town. We were told it held no value earlier, so I didn't bother wasting energy to fly there. This was the entrance exams after all. There had to be someone who could handle it, and sure enough there was. The giant monstrosity went down at the end of the exams.

After the buzzer went off to announce the end of the exams, I jumped from the roof I was on and started flying over to where the other applicants were. Normally seeing someone with giant white wings flying around would catch a few stares, but apparently everyone was so burnt out or had their attention on someone else that I joined the group unnoticed. I quickly pulled my wings back in and sat down on my butt with a huff. I was close enough to the crowd that I could hear anything I needed, but far enough away that I didn't have to make small talk with anyone.

It's not that I'm antisocial, it's quite the opposite. I love people and people tend to love my overly bubbly personality and slightly airhead tendencies. Only a few were put off by my wicked sailors' tongue. I was no angel after all.

'_Pun.. get it__..'_

When I finally started getting comfortable a commotion to my left caught my attention. Recovery Girl had finally made her debut with the students. She was whispering little words of encouragement and even giving candies to the students. I stood up and made my way closer to where she was. I didn't want any of her candy, but it felt disrespectful to not stand up in her presence. She was a legend after all. Her lips were god's gift to hero's. With just one kiss she could speed up the recovery time on life threatening wounds. It was amazing. I actually had a part of my quirk that was similar. It was called "Holy Light." It made a dome like barrier around me and maybe at most ten other people. Whoever was inside the dome would heal, and if you didn't need to heal you would be protected by the domes natural barrier. I couldn't hold it for long, and it had so many variables to it's time limit, I never used it in a battle. It was something I would use after a duel with an ally. After our match I would offer them the dome and we would heal and laugh inside. Sadly it really was my safe place. Most of my favorite memories happened when I was under my "Holy Light."

'_Pathetic.. I am such a loser__..'_

Recovery Girl's eyes found there was to a green haired boy lying face down on the ground and my eyes slowly followed hers.

'_Holy Shit__.'_

His body was destroyed. My eyes were huge, and my breathing stalled. I didn't know this kid, but what the fuck could have happened against those robots to do that to his body. I realize quickly that this kid had to be really determined to cause that kind of damage just to get into this school. I didn't know how he did in the exam, but I knew he'd be in my class.

'_That drive and determination will get you anywhere, hope this kid and I end up on this path together for awhile. I'd love to see what he can do__.'_

Recovery Girl's lips made their way over to the green haired student and he quickly started to heal. His arm and his legs started to move back into the proper places. His purple bruises started to fade until they weren't even noticeable. It looked like the kid was going to be just fine after all.

After the commotion died down the students started making their way to the exit. It was over for now. We had done all we could do to get into UA High School. I knew I was going to get chosen, but no matter how confident I was nothing could stop that bile rising in the back of my throat and the tears that started to come to my eyes.

I needed this. I needed this more than anything. This was why I made such flashy moves. I couldn't leave anything up to chance. If I didn't get into UA my life would take me back to America. Back to where my mother could get her hands back on me. I out right refused such an outcome. I am going to get into this school and I'm going to bring true peace to this world. My hands went into fists and I swallowed the lump that was in my throat.

'_I will be PLUS ULTRA__!'_

**ONE WEEK LATER **

Today was the day that my letter from UA should get here. I made myself busy around the house with every mundane task I could think of. Anything to keep my mind off of the "what if's" that flooded my brain since the day after the exam.

When you want something with all your might you can truly get paralyzed by the fear. I refused to do this. This had resulted in me cleaning my apartment roughly about 10 times this week alone. This apartment was smaller than anything I was used to, but it was mine. It was a one bedroom and one bathroom. It had a full-size kitchen that looked out into the living-room with only an island separating them. The truly special thing about this apartment was that it had a balcony that overlooked a small creek. The creek was only about 10 feet across but provided the home with the sound of life on the days that were extra hard. I had only been here for about 2 months before the exams, but many of my nights were throwing the balcony doors open and just listening to the water run. Luckily across from the creek was a thick row of trees protecting the luxury homes across from having to look at us scumming it up in the apartments. They got privacy, I got privacy. It was a nice win win.

As I sat on my grey couch in my living-room I caught myself staring at my reflection in the now turned off flat screen. I was wearing a black backless romper allowing my wings to be out and folded around my upper body. It felt like enough time had passed since the last time I checked the digital clock sitting on the end-table next to me. I had told myself that I was not aloud to check the mail until 5PM, after way too many attempts of running and checking the mailbox. My neighbors and the people in the main office had to think I was crazy at this point.

My eyes attempted to connect with the numbers on the clock, but earlier I had gotten frustrated at the thing for not moving fast enough and had thrown one of the couch pillows at it in a fit. The pillow was still sitting in front of the clock from earlier. With a heavy sigh and glare my lips were pressed into a thin line. With a quick flick my wing flew out at the pillow. Apparently, I was more upset than I thought because the clock went flying behind the end-table with the pillow.

'_Noooo__…'_

Before I could think my body flew towards the clock and I flung myself straight over the end-table. My stomach awkwardly grazed the end-table in the commotion which caused me to grunt and close my eyes in annoyance. I laid there on the floor, my eyes closed, alarm clock in my hands resting on my stomach not even moving.

My eyes flew open and looked down at the clock,

'_5:15pm__'_

I was out the door faster than I think my wings have ever carried me. I reached the main office where all the mailboxes of the apartments were. This time I didn't even make eye contact with the office manager sitting behind the main counter in the office. He had already seen me like five times today, so I felt it wasn't necessary for pleasantries anymore. He was off in 45 minutes anyways. I'm sure he appreciated being left to stare at the small tv in his area, him just begging for the minutes to tick by.

I made it to my mailbox and back to the apartment faster than ever. I was thinking about recording this beautiful moment of me opening my letter and sending the video back to my friend in America, but all those thoughts went out my head as soon as I was inside my apartment's door.

My ass flung into the chair next to the earlier mentioned end-table and I ripped the envelope open. The entire room was soundless except for the creek flowing out back. I stared down at the letter. There were no words. It was completely blank.

'_What the fuck does this mean__?'_

As soon as I was about to crush up the envelope, letter and all, a hologram filled up the space right in front of my face.

"Well Hello there Ms. May!"

It was All Might. A smile instantly broke across my face and tears went to the corners of my eyes.

'_It's fucking ALL MIGHT! The rumors were true. He's going to be at UA__!'_

"Now you may be wondering why I am here, well you see, I All Might will be a teacher this year at UA! And good news young hero, you will be joining me as part of Class 1A."

I screamed. I straight screamed. Luckily it was too early for a noise complaint but that's didn't stop the neighbor from pounding on the wall with one solid warning thump.

"Sorry Cho! I'll keep it down."

No need to piss off my young college aged next-door neighbor. Dude was straight terrifying and I somehow managed to rub him the right way. Maybe he was bit of a perv, but he had my back when other neighbors talked shit about a teenager living alone. His dark purple eyes narrowing into slits made people shut the fuck up real quick. I was the last apartment on the row so no neighbor to piss off on my other side.

Now that the straight terror was gone from the idea of not getting accepted, I ran to my small dining room table and grabbed my Bluetooth head phones and phone.

'_Time to celebrate… respectfully__'_

I blared the music so loud that I'm sure if Cho turned off everything in his house, he would be able to hear me. I started to wiggle in beat of the music as I made my way to my kitchen. I extended my wings and flew just off the ground so I could reach the cub-board above the fridge. I grabbed the bottle of tequila I had been saving since I got here from America. My friends from there were quick to send me some in the mail. They would keep my dirty habits supplied while I was in such a pure environment of young hero's in training. I pulled out a shot glass and made my way to the island. I poured a shot to the very brim of the glass. I downed it. One, two, three more. I started to feel my legs getting lighter and my wings retracted into my body. I knew not to fly drunk, a broken arm taught me that lesson young.

I swayed to the music and wiggled my butt in circles when I started to sing aloud with the music. I had a pretty good voice, but way too shy to sing in public. I'm sure Cho could hear me at this point, but it didn't matter. He didn't bang on the wall, so I kept singing and swaying to my hearts content. I was just about to start heading to my room to start winding down when I looked at the bottle one more time. I really shouldn't take another…. But like I said before and will say again….

'_I am no angel__.'_

_**END**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 2: The First Day**_

I woke with a force when my alarm started to blare. I shot up in bed and glared over at my phone with such determination. Today I would not bring myself to push the snooze button five times like normal. With a smile and glint in my eyes I turned off my alarm. I threw my legs over my bed and jumped to the floor. It was a little more forceful than necessary and I stumbled a bit. Before my face could connect with the floor my wings caught me and pushed me to standing up straight.

You'll slowly start to realize I am a major klutz, but my wings always catch me. Sometimes it felt like they had a mind of their own.

Shaking the thought from my head I started to get ready. After a quick shower I started the process that was calming my hair. It was so long that I normally would wash and straighten it the night before, but today was a special day that demanded my hair be just perfect. Today was my first day of Hero Class and I am just truly in a state of bliss. My nerves were long gone. Clearly the teachers saw something in me to accept me to the course, and that would be my fuel to push myself over the next couple years of high school.

I finished up my hair and threw on some light mascara and lip gloss, just enough makeup to shine a little extra bright. It was time to put on the uniform. My hands were a little shaky as I ran my fingers over the fabric. It was nothing special as far as uniforms went; grey and green blazer, white button up undershirt, bright red tie, and lastly a cute little green mini skirt. It was so special due to what it represented. Every great hero out of Japan had worn this uniform and now I get to wear it.

I threw on the uniform, put on some cute white thigh high socks with brown knee high laced up boots, and started my journey out the door. A couple steps out the door I realized I forgot my bag, turned around and ran back to grab it. I guess I was a little more anxious than I originally thought. The commute to UA High School took about 35 minutes. I didn't live close due to the crazy spike in price in apartments. Apparently getting a chance to see heroes up close was a great selling point for apartments. Cool enough I got to ride a train in the morning rather than making the trek on foot. The only sad part of moving to Japan was giving up the ability to get my driver's license. Japan's driving age was 21 which is just crazy to me. At least public transit was everywhere. Also, there was this whole crazy notion that you couldn't use your quirk out and about without a provisional license. So, flying everywhere was taken off the table for me. I will admit, at nights, I would from here to there, but I would never risk making it a daily thing.

As I arrived at the school, I realized that I was early. There were only a few students here and there. I meant to be a little early but didn't realize just how early I left. I guess I really was excited. A small smile broke across my face and I started heading towards my classroom.

Walking around UA started taking me back to my American school days. It was hard to imagine that this school had such prestigious reputation. It honestly looked like a normal school on the inside. Giant windows in the halls made It easy to look out into the courtyard of the campus. It really made me feel like I was at a school in California. Lots of light and wide-open spaces to hold all the kids. Now the door to the classroom made my jaw drop.

'_Um, what the actual fuck is this.' _

The door was ginormous. Well over 10 feet tall. There were windows so you could see into the classroom if you really wanted to. Still it was pretty awe inspiring. It really made the school feel larger than life. My 5'6'' height felt dwarfed by the door. I grabbed the door and slowly slid it open. Even with the size it slid effortlessly.

It was time to start my new life and maybe that would include some new friends that were in this very class. I walked into a nearly empty room. There were only about 5 students that were earlier than me. I looked around all the different desks and then looked up the classroom board.

'_Ah there's a seating chart. Thank god. No pressure.'_

I found my name on the board and headed to my seat. On my way a student with dark blue hair and glassed stopped me

"Hello, my name is Tenya Iida." He bowed slightly.

"Oh, hi! My name is Marina May. It's very nice to meet you." I bowed a little awkwardly. I was still getting used to not reaching out my hand to shake and bowing just felt so unnatural to my personality.

Iida raised his eyebrow at my accent. It wasn't terrible, but for sure noticeable. Also, not to mention my complexion was clearly not Japanese.

Iida did not mention the accent, but politely said, "I look forward to working with you over the next couple years."

"Oh yeah totally! Hopefully we can become fast friend." I winked at him with a big smile on my face.

Iida let me pass to find my seat.

'_Okay, my first introduction was done. Now twenty more to go.' _

I didn't think I would have the chance to talk to every student one on one today, but I was going to make an effort to get to know every single one of them before the end of the week. I had no family here in Japan. No friends, unless you wanted to count my neighbor Cho, which I didn't. I had a lot of friends back in America, and I made every attempt to stay in contact with them. We texted and Facebooked each other a lot, but it wasn't the same. I am a very social creature and I was feeling awfully neglected.

I took my seat and looked up at the board. I was sitting behind someone named Kouji Kouda, in front of someone named Rikidou Satou, and the people to my sides were Shoto Todoroki and Ochako Uraraka. Those four would be the first people I introduced myself to. Might as well get to know my neighbors first. Luckily one was already there. Shoto Todoroki sat in the seat to me left. He was looking down at a book on his desk. Completely in his own world in would seem. I slowly raised my hand and tapped the edge of his desk.

Todoroki glanced up at me slowly. I sucked in a deep breath and my eyes went wide just a little. Sure, his hair was instantly noticeable as I came into the classroom. His left side of his head had red hair and the right side was a snowy white. That hair had nothing on his eyes though. His left eye was a beautiful turquoise while his right eye was a storm cloud of grey. He took my breath away, but only for a second.

"_Hi neighbor, I'm Marina May." _For some reason I spoke in barley above a whisper. Almost like my overbearing personality would scare him away if it showed up too early. I was already treating the kid like he was a scared gazelle apparently.

"Shoto Todoroki." Nothing else.

"Well it's nice to meet you Todoroki." Same smile and wink from before were directed at him. He just nodded and looked back down.

'_Well then. Guess I'm not everyone's cup of tea.' _I dramatically sighed and laid my head on my desk.

I got here so early and I have nothing really to do. I was hoping that I would have time to bond with some of the other students, but my seat mate wasn't talking. If I wanted to bond, I would have to bring myself to get out of my desk and put myself out there. My eyes looked around the room as my chin stayed on the desk. I had so much energy that was just ready to spill out, but I had to contain myself to not come off as desperate, even though I totally was. I closed my eyes and decided to just relax until the room filled up more.

A couple minutes went by when I felt a small tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see a cute girl with short brown hair with the cutest short choppy bangs. She had a huge inviting smile on her face. She was adorable and her friendship would be mine.

"Hi! I'm Ochako Uraraka." Her hand went up in a little wave and her brown eyes closed and I swear the smile got even bigger.

"Hi Uraraka, I am Marina May. It's very nice to meet you." My smile and wave matched hers.

"You can call me Ochako. I just have to say; I saw you at the very beginning of the exams. You looked so cool when your wings popped out and you started flying! I really wish I could have seen the rest of your quirk, but those wings got you away to fast! I couldn't catch up and still get enough points. It was smart to get away from everyone to get all your points, plus you totally got away from that zero pointer that tried to crush my leg. Luckily that green haired kid jumped in and saved me. It was so cool, very heroic." She rambled on and on. When she finished her speech, her hand was in a fist and her eyes glared off into unoccupied part of the classroom.

'_Oh my god. She's so cute. I could hear her go on for hours. Oh, crap I haven't said anything, and I just keep nodding like an idiot. SPEAK!'_

"Occhhhhakooo. That's so nice of you. You totally have me blushing over here. Please call me Marina. I'm from America so it's a little weird to have people call me by my last name." My hands flew up to my red cheeks and my entire body was wiggling back and forth in my seat.

"Okay! I'll do that Marina." Ochako sat down in her seat and started to get comfortable.

"So Ochako, I didn't get to see you during the exams. I don't mean that as an insult if that's what it sounded like. I just was way too zeroed in and I only saw robots that day." My hand found the back of my head and started to rub up in down in nerves. A small little laugh left my body in shame.

"Oh, Marina I totally understand. I was so nervous too. We all have our own way of dealing with it." She leaned out of her chair and put her hand on my shoulder. She took it away and continued, "My quirk is Zero Gravity! My quirk allows me to manipulate gravity upon any object just by grazing it with my fingertips effectively making them weightless." Her finger pointed up into the air spinning in a tiny circle.

"That's so cool Ochako! So unique. I love it. My quirk is called Holy Knight. There's a lot of parts to it that would take way too long to explain. You got to see my favorite part though. My wings allow me to go places most people can't even imagine. Hey, when we get some more free time and I can show you other parts of my quirk. Maybe we can even go get some coffee or something." I said with a little shakiness in my voice. Trying to make friends with other girls always made me more nervous than talking to boys. Friends sure tend to last longer and mean more than any boyfriends I've ever had. Ochako quickly stood from her desk and grabbed my hands in her hands.

"Yes I would totally love that!" No smile this time. Just big brown eyes staring straight into my soul.

"Awesome! It's a date." The most genuine smile broke across my face and my heart skipped a beat.

The room started to fill up and Ochako clearly got distracted by something out of the corner of her eye. Actually, it was more like someone. My eyes followed hers and they fell upon the boy with green hair from the entrance exams. Her face started to glow, and a giant smile broke out. She pretty much sprinted up to him. He was currently being talked to by that Iida kid, but Ochako didn't hesitate.

"Hey! I recognize that messed-up hair! Falling boy!" Her voice just started to ramble, and she got too quiet for me to hear from the back of the room.

The boy seriously looked like he was going to die. His whole face was red, and his hand covered over his eyes so he couldn't make eye contact with her.

"If you're just here to make friends then you can pack up your stuff now."

'_Is that a giant fucking slug!?'_

The 'slug' continued, "Welcome to UA's hero course. It took eight seconds before you all shut up. That's not going to work, time is precious. Rational students would understand that." The slug shed his skin to reveal a man. He was tall with long shaggy black hair and dark eyes. He had a 5 o'clock shadow already and had dark circles under his eyes. He wore all black except for a pretty large grey scarf that looked like it was wrapped around his neck ten times over. "Hello. I'm Shota Aizawa. Your teacher."

'_This dude is our teacher? Well at least he isn't some sort of slug hero. I may have seriously been sick.'_

Aizawa started to dig through his sleeping bag looking or something. He pulled out gym uniforms. "Right, let's get to it. Put these on and head outside."

Everyone quickly stood out of their seats and started to head for the door. On the way out Aizawa handed each person their own UA gym uniform. Once we had the uniforms in hand, we headed to the locker rooms to change.

The girl's locker room was nothing out of the ordinary. I did notice however, that our class didn't have that many girls. Out of the twenty-one students there was only seven girls. All the girls were in too much of a hurry to talk. Aizawa didn't seem like the type that would like to be kept waiting. The school uniform was a mix of blue, white and red. They had long pants and short sleeve shirts with a zipper right up the middle. Thank god mine was personalized so the back was completely open with a giant rectangle cut out with a white boarder. I also was wearing my special sports bra that cross low on my back and had a halter top that went around my neck. It looked a little ridiculous without having my wings out, so I went ahead and just let them be free. I mean they were part of my hero persona, so I felt no shame in letting them be seen at school.

"May, your wings are beautiful! I'm Mina Ashido by the way." A girl with pink skin, yellow eyes and horns on top of her head.

"Thank you Ashido. You can me Marina by the way." I smiled at the girl

"Okay, awesome. Call me Mina."

Some of the other girls chimed in about my wings, but it was time to start heading to the track field. We all walked together out the field. All the boys were there already so we joined their group. Aizawa had his back to the group.

When everyone gathered around, he finally spoke, "We will be doing a quirk assessment test today."

"What!? A quirk assessment test?" The whole class shouted together.

"But orientation! We're gonna miss it!" Ochako huffed in disappointment.

"If you really wanna make the big leagues, you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies." Everyone gasped at the hard words. Aizawa ignored us and continued, "Here are UA, we're not tethered to traditions. That means that I get to run my class however I see fit. You've been taking standardized tests most of you lives. But you never got to use your quirks in physical exams before. The country's still trying to pretend we're all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It's not rational. One day, the Ministry of Education will learn. Bakugo, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam." Aizawa directed his last gaze to a kid with blonde hair and red eyes.

'_Bakugo had the most points. He must be pretty strong.'_

Aizawa, still talking to Bakugo, "What was you farthest distance throw with a softball when you were in Junior High?"

"_Sixty-seven meters, I think."_Bakugo responded. No smiles, no nonsense.

"Right. Try doing it with your quirk."

Aizawa directed Bakugo to a circle in the middle of the field and handed him a ball, "Anything goes, just stay in the circle." Bakugo just kind of stood there staring at Aizawa. "Go on. You're wasting our time."

"All right, man. You asked for it." Bakugo started to stretch to get ready to throw the ball.

"Hey Ochako. Is this normal for schools in Japan to test stuff like this?" I whispered in her ear.

"Oh yeah totally. Where did you go to school Marina?"

"America. I'm still trying to get used to some of the customs so sorry if I have to ask a lot of questions." I nervously rubbed the back of my head.

"Oh, that's awesome! You can count on me Marina. I'll keep you up on the know!" Ochako gave me that adorable smile of hers.

It looked like Bakugo was finally ready. He did a dramatic wind up and threw all his weight to his front foot. "DIE!" He threw the ball with the full force of his quirk. The explosion that followed was loud. It caught me so off guard I almost threw my hands over my ears. The heat on my face from the explosion had me cringing. The ball flew through the air.

'_Ugh too hot.' _I turned my face away not really caring to watch where it ended up. The rest of the students had their eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

"All of you need to know your maximum capabilities." The ball was still soaring through the air. It hit the ground as Aizawa was looking down a gauge in his hand. "It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a hero." Aizawa raised the gauge for the rest of the class to see.

'_705.2 meters. Dang.' _The students gasping around me clearly agreed.

"Whoa, 705 meters, are you kidding me?" A boy with yellow hair with a black lightning streak said with a little disbelief in his voice.

"I wanna go! That looks like fun!" Mina chirped next to me as she clapped her hands together.

Suddenly there was a chill in the air, and I felt a negative aura coming from someone close by. Aizawa spoke in a cold steel voice, "So this looks fun, huh? You have three years here to become a hero. You think it's all gonna be games and play time?" Aizawa broke into the creepiest smirk I had seen in a long time, "Idiots. Today you'll compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last had none and will be expelled immediately."

Everyone screamed, but me and a few other students. I wasn't trying to be cocky, but I knew my potential and I clearly could be in the top. In America we got to freely use our quirks. Got to love that country Freedom. Can't have someone control something you're born with.

"Like I said, I get to decide how this class runs. Understand?" Same terrifying smirk with giant bloodshot eyes. "If that's a problem, you can head home right now."

'_Dude needs a nap. Where is that damn sleeping bag?' _

"You can't send one of us home! I mean, we just got here! Even if it wasn't the first day, that isn't fair" Ochako screamed at Aizawa.

'_Oh, sweet Ochako. Please don't rock this guy's boat.'_

"Oh, and you think natural disasters are? Or power-hungry villains? Hm? Or catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities? No, the world is full of unfairness. It's a hero's job to try to combat that unfairness. If you wanna be a pro, you're gonna have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, UA will throw one terrible hardship after another at you. So go beyond. Plus Ultra-style." Aizawa lifted his finger into the air and did the come at me motion, "Show me it's no mistake that you're here."

As harsh as it was to hear, Aizawa wasn't wrong. This school was the toughest to get into. There was a reason that it produced the strongest heroes. UA pushed you to be your greatest self. That's why I came all the way here. It would be sad to lose a classmate that didn't make the cut, but I knew for a fact that it wouldn't be me. I hoped it wouldn't be any of the girls that were quick to show me kindness, but it wouldn't stop me from attending here. I needed this. Just like everyone here needed it. It was time to step up to the plate.

TEST 1: 50-meter dash

"Runners, on your marks. Ready…." Aizawa demanded.

There was a gun shot and we were off. Clearly Iida had the advantage here, but I refused to let anyone think they had a leg up on me. I rocked my body back and flicked my wings and I shot off. The distance was short, so the motion was quick and precise. I flew across the finish line just before Iida.

'_3.02 seconds. Nothing personal Iida but SUCK IT!' _A giant smile broke across my face.

All the other students took their turns and finished in various places, but no one beat my time. I slowly started to catch on to everyone's names and their quirks. I made a mental note to make some flash cards later so I could have all the names to faces by the end of the week. Knowledge is power after all.

TEST 2: Grip Strength

My quirk didn't really help me here at all. Yeah, I was stronger than the average student, but nothing like super strength. I still finished in the top 10.

'_Not going to win them all I guess.' _

Test 3: Standing Long Jump

So, my wings easily took this one for me. I easily cleared the measuring area and asked Aizawa if I just keep going. He said it would be a waste of time. There we're a couple other kids to also clear the measuring area.

Test 4: Repeated side steps

That freaking Mineta kid was a freak. I couldn't even keep my eyes on him as he bounced back and forth. The sidestep distance was too short to have used my wings at all for an advantage. Guess I just had to use my natural athleticism for most of these.

Test 5: ball throw

Here we go. Something that would finally let me show off my quirk. All I had to do was beat that hothead Bakugo.

'_705 right? I got this.' _

I summoned my Holy Bow and my Holy Lasso. To be honest I didn't really like to use my Lasso typically, but I would need it today. I took the ball and the lasso in hand and tied the ball to one of the arrows. Like I said before, the arrows appear to be made of light, but they were solid. With my little make shift ball arrow combo I pointed high into the sky. I released the arrow from the bow and it flew fast and true.

'_752, fuck yes!' _I looked over at a fuming Bakugo and winked at him. "Better luck next time babe."

"The fuck did you say pigeon!?" Bakugo started pace angrily in my direction.

I summoned Holy Light creating a much smaller, but stronger dome around myself. Bakugo's face smashed right into the dome of holy light.

"What the fuck is this!? You fucking bitch! I'll kill you!" Bakugo was screaming and red faced. I just laughed right in his face.

He started to create a bomb in his hand but was quickly stopped by Aizawa's scarf. "Bakugo, that's enough." He stated with no room for negotiation.

During all the commotion Ochako went up for her turn. She threw the ball with very little force, but when she activated her quirk the ball was completely gone from sight. When Aizawa held up the gauge for all of us to see there was only an infinity symbol.

"Good Job Ochako! That was kick ass!" I wasn't salty about losing unlike some people. I ran up and hugged her and she didn't hesitate to hug me back.

Next up was Midoriya. So far, he hadn't made an impact in the slightest. I wasn't really paying attention to the scores, but Iida was quick to mention that if he didn't step up he was gone. Also, I did hear that Bakugo dude mention that Midoriya was a quirkless loser, but I knew what I saw. This messy haired kid had taken down the zero pointer to save Ochako.

"Hey Bakugo. Maybe you should just shut your fucking mouth and watch him, hm?" Apparently, I was sick of Bakugo running his mouth. Kid had no class and treated people weaker than him like nobodies and that shit was not cool with me in the slightest. I could tell that Bakugo had something to say, but with a glance towards Aizawa he decided that today wasn't the day.

Midoriya took a deep pained breath. His eyes narrowed into a grimace as he went to throw the ball. The ball fell forty-six meters in front of him. His face showed that he was clearly shocked.

'_Hm, interesting.' _

"Uh, what gives? I was trying to use it just now." Midoriya said with a shaky voice.

"I erased your quirk." Aizawa quickly answered.

Everyone looked at him and dude looked straight terrifying. His eyes were glowing red and his scarf was flying around his body dramatically. He continued, "The judges for the exam were not rational enough, someone like you should never be allowed to enroll in this school."

"Wait, you did what to my…Ah! Those goggles. I know you! You can look at someone and cancel out their powers. The Erasure Hero. Eraser Head!" Midoriya exclaimed.

The rest of the students talked amongst themselves about how they'd never heard of him or they had, but it a was very little.

Aizawa ignored all of the chatter, "You're not ready. You don't have control over your power. Were you planning to break your bones again? Counting on someone else to save your useless body?"

"No! That's not what I was trying to do!"

Aizawa grabbed Midoriya with his scarf and dragged him close enough to get right in his face. "No matter what your intentions are, you would be nothing more than a liability in battle. You have the same reckless passion as another overzealous hero I know. One who saved 1,000 people by himself and became a legend. But even with that drive, you're worthless if you can only throw a single punch before breaking down. Sorry Midoriya. With your power, there's no way you can become a hero." Aizawa released him. "I've returned your impracticable quirk. Take your final throw. Hurry and get it over with."

I was shaking. I barely knew this kid, but from what Ochako had said he was her hero. Even if he was reckless and still had much to learn, no one deserved to be talked to like that. I looked around and noticed that no one else has heard what was said between the two. At least he was spared that humiliation as well. Of course, most of the kids knew that it probably wasn't words of encouragement Aizawa had shared.

Midoriya went back into the circle. This time the look on his face was pure determination. He was going to do it. He was going to prove Aizawa wrong. I just knew it! Midoriya through his weight back and then quickly forward throwing the ball with great force. I held my breath waiting for the aftermath, but it never came. Midoriya has contained his true power and only caused damaged to one of his fingers. Aizawa held the gauge up, and sure enough he had matched Bakugo's throw from earlier, 705 meters.

Midoriya turned slowly around, "Mr. Aizawa." Midoriya made direct eye contact with Aizawa with his teeth grinding. His eyes shinned with tears, but more so than that, pure unapologetic pride, "You see, I'm still standing." He closed his hand into a fist and glared. Aizawa broke into a giant grin. His eyes finally showing some true spark.

'_I'm not crying, you're crying.'_I was the one crying. _'Damn, this kid destroyed my heart.' _His determination was unfucking stoppable. That's when I decided that I wanted this kid in my life.

Suddenly an explosion to my right grabbed my who attention. My wings drew me quickly to the left a foot to safety and wrapped in front of me to block whatever may be coming.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this!" Bakugo growled as he started to set of more explosions in his hand propelling him at Midoriya, "Deku you bastard! Tell me how you did that, or you're dead!" All Midoriya could do was let out a surprised scream.

I wanted to fly and help him so bad, but I knew there was no way I could get there, and I was too surprised to place Holy Light in the perfect place to keep them apart. However, before I could even think of option number 3, Aizawa snatched Bakugo up with his scarf and canceled out his quirk. Bakugo was muttering something at Aizawa, his voice so strained I couldn't hear him over the ringing in my ears. Aizawa explained something about his scarf. I still couldn't really hear it.

"Stand down. It'd be wise to avoid making me use my quirk so much. It gives me serious dry eye." Aizawa barked at Bakugo.

"Too bad. That power is amazing!" The students said in perfect unison.

Aizawa clearly grew tired of the drama and called up the nest person. Midoriya cautiously walked around Bakugo. Never taking his eye's off him. Ochako and I ran up to Midoriya when he was safely away from Bakugo. We looked over his finger worriedly, but he assured us he was okay. Without much thinking I grabbed his hand firmly so he couldn't pull it away.

"MMmmMMAaayy what are you doing." Midoriya's entire face turned the brightest shade of red I have ever seen a person turn.

"First off Midoriya, please call me Marina. You and I are going to be great friends after all." I smiled my most caring smile. His face somehow got a darker shade of red. "Also, I'm going to heal you. A part of my quirk Is healing believe it or not!"

Before he could protest, I summed my Holy Light. For something as small as a finger I would be able to heal it quickly due to the small dome of light I would need to produce. The dome just covered his hand that was inside mine.

"Wow, It's so warm." Midoriya's embarrassment seemed to die down and his awe took over. "um.. May.. I mean Marina! Your quirk is amazing! There seems to be so many parts to it. I'd love to hear more about it. I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Of course, Midoriya! Ochako and I we're already planning on grabbing some coffee and I was going to let her in on my secrets. Would you like to join us as well?" I let go of his hand now that his finger was completely restored. My breath was a little labored. I healed him at such a quick rate that my stamina was gone. I wouldn't be able to rely on my quirk much longer. I had no regrets though. This kid needed a better chance than I did.

Midoriya's whole face returned to that adorable color of red, "Coffee!? With you two? I mean yeah, I want to come, I don't drink coffee though. Way more of a tea guy myself. I mean I could bring myself to try coffee again. Maybe I just had a bad experience. Also, I'll bring my hero book. That's where I write down all the info I have on different quirks. I love to study other people's quirks. I mean there was a time when I didn't think I would get one and you know what they say about knowledge being power. Oh! I mean if you're okay with that Marina." His hands went straight, and his elbows were at a 90 degree angle as he kept rambling. It was adorable.

So that wrapped up the ball throw quirk assessment test. It also wrapped up me making plans with two of my new classmates and hopefully new friends. I was so excited with how things had turned out.

'_At this rate I'm sure to make friends with almost everyone else in class!' _

Test 6: Long Distance Run

Once again, I was able to use my wings to finish rather quickly. This time however Iida was able to use his full potential and he beat me fair and square. I took second and I was completely satisfied with that.

"Iida! Good job! You got me this time. Your engines are truly amazing." I reached up to his shoulder and patted his back three times. My words didn't have their normal energy due to me starting to get tired. Long distance running, or flying, was not my favorite activity and I don't think it ever will be. It was nice when you could go your own pace, but in competition? No thanks.

"Oh! Thank you May."

"Marina. Call me Marina." I apparently was going to have to find a faster way of telling everyone to call me by my first name.

'_I'll just announce it when I get back to class. This is getting too repetitive telling them all individually.' _

Test 7: Sit-ups

No quirk advantages here. I do have abs of steel though, but so did a lot of people in class. We were training to be heroes after all.

Test 8: seated toe touch

My hands easily found their way past my feet. I loved to practice yoga back in the states. It was a perfect excuse to get out of my house nice and early before school. Plus, it totally eased the raging beast that was my teen years so far.

After all the fitness tests were over, the students gathered around Aizawa. A lot of them fell to the ground in exhaustion. I remand standing. I was worried if I got too comfy, I wouldn't be able to move from that spot. I needed a long nap, a good meal, and lastly, a hot shower.

Once everyone had settled down Aizawa finally spoke, "All right, time to give you your results. I've ranked you all from best to worst. You should probably have a good idea of your standing already. I'll just pull up the whole list. It's not worth going over each individual's score."

_Momo Yaoyorozu_

_Shoto Todoroki _

_Katsuki Bakugo_

_Marina May_

_Tenya Iida _

_Fumikage Tokoyami_

_Mezou Shouji_

_Mashirao Ojiro_

_Eijirou Kirishima_

_Mina Ashido_

_Ochako Uraraka _

_Kouji Koda_

_Rikidou Satou_

_Tsuyu Asui_

_Yuuga Aoyama_

_Hanta Sero_

_Denki Kaminari _

_Kyouka Jirou_

_Toru Hagakure_

_Minoru Mineta _

_Izuku Midoriya _

"And I was lying. No one's going home. That was just a rational deception to make sure you gave it your all in the tests." Aizawa had a cheeky grin on his face.

Everyone screamed except Yaoyorozu, "I'm surprised the rest of you didn't figure that out. I'm sorry. I guess I probably should have said something." She side eyed her in exhaustion.

'_hm, I don't think that's quite true. Midoriya proved himself and I'm sure that's what saved his ass.' _

Aizawa addressed us one more time before walking off, "That's it. We're done for the day. Pick up a syllabus in the classroom. Read it over before tomorrow morning. May, thank you for healing Midoriya, but it's unnecessary to waste your energy. Recovery girl will be taking the healings from here unless you're in a training trial."

"Yes sir!" Aizawa hesitated for a second. Taken aback by my firm response but said nothing more and continued to leave.

That was it. The day was finally over. I was originally going to have our little coffee date today after class, but we decided to save it for tomorrow. We all were so tired and just ready to get home and relax. As much as I dreaded the quietness of my house, I really needed my bed.

After changing back into my uniform, I waved at Ochako and Mina and left. As I made my way to the train station, I pulled up Snapchat on my phone and went to '_BITCHES IN AMERICA' _Group and began to film. "Hey assholes! Marina here. Just wanted you all to know I survived my first day. Still no sign of All Might, but I know his ass is around here somewhere. I miss you all very much and think about you constantly! Hit me back when you get a chance. Love you all!" I smiled and flashed a peace sign into the camera before I ended the recording.

At this point I had reached the train station and was just waiting. I switched to flip through Facebook and liked a few things here and there from my friends. Made a few stupid comments on posts. I still wanted my friends to feel my presence in their lives, but the time zone differences were starting to hinder this. Right now, it was almost 2 in the morning where I'm from in the states. There was a slim possibility anyone was awake.

To my surprise I heard a notification from snapchat. I pulled down the notification bar and tears instantly sprung to my eyes. It was my best friend Nova. Nova would be awake at this hour. She was a wild child and was always getting me into trouble with my mother. When my dad died and my mother couldn't be bothered to care for me, Nova's family took me in and cared for me the best they could. Our social class differences were great, but I never cared. Her parents gave me more love than my mother ever could. They cried when they found out I was leaving for Japan. They promised to visit me when they could manage to take the time off.

I opened Snapchat and clicked on the response, "MARI! BABE! I miss you soooooooooo much. It's so fucking boring without you around. I've gotten so desperate that I let this asshole into me bed." The camera flashed over to a guy with shaggy blonde hair and green eyes. He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. I did know the guy. His name was Aiden Fitzsimmons. He was a mutual friend of ours. He had always loved Nova, but girl used to be too wild to even slow down for guys. Clearly things were changing. "Don't tell the rest of the delinquents just yet please." She winked through the camera. "Well I'm glad to hear you made it through the first day. Please keep me updated! I'd Facetime, but I'm going to pass out. I've stayed up just in hopes of hearing from you." Nova grabbed a joint from off camera and took a long drag, "That one's for you Babe. I know you can't get any of this good shit over in wholesome Japan. Maybe…. that'll eventually make you come back to me." Her eyes started to water, and a small frown came to her face. "Goodnight babe. I love you."

The snap ended and I was left there alone in full tears. It was so hard to leave my home and my friends. My mother had made it such an unbearable environment that I thought fleeing was the only option. I had stayed with so many friends in the past, but my mother always found a way to use her influence to make me return to the prison that was our family home. After my dad died my mother became a whole new kind of monster. It was like she finally felt capable to use me however she saw fit. She would make me train my quirk, day in and day out. Sometimes she wouldn't let me eat or sleep if she felt unsatisfied with my performance. She even took me out of public school to homeschool me so she could shove whatever information she wanted into my brain.

I haven't mentioned this before, but my mother was a very famous Pro Hero from America. That's how she was able to throw her influence around. My father also had a powerful quirk, but he used it for humanitarian missions. He never cared to be famous, and that's why him and my mom never worked out. She saw how strong he was. She thought she would be able to change him if she could get him to fall in love with her. He did fall in love, but he loved humanity more. He never could change and they broke-up. My mother was two months pregnant with me when that all happened, but she was not going to stay with a man just for that. They both had their own income and agreed to co-parent without seeing much of each other. This made many holidays difficult and hard. I always felt divided, but I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. This was all I'd ever known.

My train started to pull in taking me out of my thoughts. I wiped the tears from my face, messing my make-up up only slightly. I put a fake smile on my face and started heading for the doors. I caught a flash of red out of the corned of my eye and glanced back over my shoulder. There stood Shoto Todoroki with a blank look directed right as me. I hesitated for a second and lightly waved. He only raised his hand and put it back down. I shrugged my shoulders and continued onto the train.

I flopped down into the farthest back seat. I pulled out a pair of headphones from my bag and put them into my ears. Today was long. Tomorrow could be even longer. I needed a mental check out and that's exactly what I was going to do. I found the artist Halestorm and turned it up as loud as it could go. Just before closing my eyes to just drift away I saw Shoto enter the train and take the seat closes to the door. I didn't have the energy to attempt socializing with someone so…..quiet. Plus, I had no idea what he saw or heard from earlier. I decided to save it for another day. I didn't close my eyes but instead stared out the window. Apart of me kind of hoped he would come to the back of the train eventually, but he never did.

_**END**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 3: All Might**_

As soon as I woke up today, I knew it was going to be a long one. My body was still a little sore from training yesterday. Since I've arrived in Japan, I had gotten a little lazy with my works outs. That clearly was a mistake that I was going to rectify immediately. I decided the night before to set my alarm extra early so I could squeeze in a jog followed by some light yoga. With today being my first attempt, I didn't give myself enough time for everything I wanted to get done but tomorrow was a new day to try again. I put on my uniform and brushed my hair out that I had luckily styled the night before. I grabbed my bag and I was out the door.

Last night I had looked over the curriculum that was handed out to us yesterday. The first part of the day was normal school stuff; English, Math, History, and Science. The second half of the day was when we had Hero Basic Training with All Might as our teacher. I was so excited to finally get to see him. I was even thinking about sneaking my phone into class so I could take a picture of All Might, but the idea of being punished by Aizawa quickly changed my mind.

'_I'll find time outside of class to ask for a picture.'_

I arrived at the station just before the train arrived. I already had music in my ears to get me pumped for the day. This was something you'll always see of me. Music made me feel better no matter what was going on. My morning routine has constant music in the background and if I was in private, I would sing along with a little too much passion. Being a pop idol was my back up career. All I would have to do is get over my extreme stage fright. My friends had tried to force me once to sing at a local karaoke night and I completely passed out. I don't even remember leaving. I just woke up in Nova's bed. I had not gotten the nerve to try again.

About two minutes before the rain was to arrive, I caught a familiar head of hair about ten feet away from me. One half white, one half red. It was Todoroki and he was looking right at me.

"Todoroki, what are you doing here?" I stood up from the bench I was waiting on and took the headphones out of my ears. I walked over to him with a light wave of my hand.

"Waiting for the train." He answered factually.

"Well yeah I could have guessed that. Do you live around here or something?"

"Yes." Still short and too the point. Talking to him was like pulling teeth, but if we were neighbors in class and now neighbors in the real world, I was going to do everything to befriend him. I was really struggling out here and he lived close to me.

"Well that's awesome! I live here too. I'm sure you put that together yourself though. You seem like the smart and quiet type. You also beat me in the quirk assessment test too so you're clearly strong. Wow, I guess you're just the whole package. Let me guess, you're also rich?" Maybe I was nervous. I normally would have stopped the word vomit. There was no stopping it today.

Todoroki's eyes widen for just a fraction of a second, but I still caught it. "Well that's a very personal question, but yes. My family is very comfortable. Some may call us rich."

"Oh, Todoroki I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to answer. That was pretty rude of me." I bowed lightly and noticed the train was pulling in. "Hey, I know I totally made an ass out of myself, but I'd still like to get to know you better. We're seatmates after all! Do you want to sit by each other on the train? We don't have to talk. I really just need some company." I was being vulnerable with him. This wasn't something uncommon with me. I normally said what was on my mind, but I wasn't sure how'd he'd take it.

"Yeah, I'd be fine with that May." He bowed slightly. It was adorable.

"Awesome!" I squealed and grabbed his arm and pretty much drug him into the train.

I let go of his arm when we got to our seats. I sat first and with a huge smile on my face I patted the seat next to me. He let out a small sigh and sat down. I truly hoped he wasn't regretting his decision.

The train took off with a jolt and I sat in silence looking out the window. A small smile on my face. I didn't turn to look at him, but still said, "You can call me Marina by the way. Where I'm from no one uses last names. I think some of my friends might not even know it!" I laughed just thinking of some of those friends.

"The friend you were talking to yesterday, does she not know it?" He asked quietly.

He finally had my full attention. My head snapped to his face with a light blush covering my cheeks. "Ah, so you did see that. First off, let me apologize for anything indecent you may have heard. I promise, Nova is a good person, but in America we aren't very wholesome. The way she behaves is rather normal." I closed my eyes and waved my head around in front of my face. "And yes. She knows my last name. She's my best friend. She knows everything about me. The good times and the really bad times. We all have to have that one friend, right?" My eyes found their way to his face again. Those eyes made of ice and steel just stared back at me.

"I've actually never had a friend like that. Seems very encroaching." His words were harsh, but I felt the sad undertone of it all.

"Yeah it can be. I won't lie about that." My eyes looked down to my hands that were playing with the hem of my skirt. "But Nova is someone who calls me out on my bullshit. I had it pretty rough when I lost my father and was left with my bitch of a mother. My personality took a turn for the worst. I started to attack people I really cared about verbally and I even started to get into fights with strangers who looked at me wrong. I was just so angry at the word and even god. I hated, which was something so new to me." I looked to see if he was paying attention at all, and surprisingly enough his eyes were looking directly into mine. I took it as a sign to continue. "You want to know a secret? My quirk as you know is called Holy Knight. Well you can imagine; I wasn't my most holy self during this time and it started to show in my quirk. It acted in ways that were uncontrollable. It almost took on a life of it's own. My wings even started to lose their whiteness! During an emotional breakdown I lashed out at Nova verbally and she really let me have it. Telling me all the things I really needed to hear, but somehow it just wouldn't reach me. She was so upset and didn't know how to help. Her quirk allows her to feel someone's emotions just by touching them. She reached out to grab my arm and my quirk acted on its own. My Holy Light burned her." My body was lightly shaking. I still couldn't believe I was telling Todoroki all of this, but once I got started there was no stopping the story. "She screamed so loud. I sometimes can still hear it and it just shatters my heart all over again. But this is what finally reached me. That day was a wake-up call for me to get my life back on track so I would never hurt anyone I loved again." I looked him dead in the eye and smiled. My hand closed into a determine fist right in front of my heart. "That's why having friends who know every side of you is so important. When you've lost your way, it's them who will remind you of who you really are."

Todoroki didn't say anything after the story. He was too lost in his own thoughts. I'm sure he had his own demons just like the rest of us. Maybe I had shared too much. I really didn't like the face he was making. It seemed so far away. He was right next to me, but I couldn't reach him. I went out to touch his face suddenly, but before my finger could touch his cheek the train came to a firm stop. His eyes flicked over to my hand in surprise, but I had already pulled it back to me and started gathering my bag to exit the train.

"Looks like we made it Todoroki. I'm sorry that I didn't keep my word on not talking. I talked your ear off! Don't hold it against me please." I stood up and was about to make my way for the doors. I was a little embarrassed at this point and felt like Todoroki probably wanted his own space.

To my surprise he finally spoke to me stopping me dead in my tracks, "Let's walk to class together Marina." He gathered his things and walked past me out of the train. He got about ten feet in front of me and looked over his shoulder. Red hair and a blue eye held me in their grasp.

A heartfelt smile found its way to my face and I nodded in response. I was all talked out for now. I jogged to catch up with him and we found a comfortable pace to walk together. The walk from the station to the school grounds was silent. It was a comfortable silence which was something I never found in someone else.

Right before we walked into the classroom, I finally broke it, "You know Todoroki, you learned a lot about me, but I learned absolutely nothing about you. Anything you feel like giving a poor soul?"

He didn't say anything at first but stopped walking. His hand found his chin and he looked up at the ceiling. "Cold Soba is my favorite food."

'_Adorable.' _

"That's wonderful! I've never had it so you'll have to take me sometime." I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the classroom with me.

I ignored all of the stares that were shot in our direction. When we got to out desks, I finally let him go, "Thank you for this morning Todoroki. I really enjoyed it. Feel free to join me again if you see me at the station. You officially have an open invitation to sit by me." My finger came out and 'booped' his nose. I sat down in my desk and started to get myself ready for the day. I decided to give Todoroki a break about the light blush that covered his face.

'_I finally broke him a little.' _I held a victory dance inside my head.

After Lunch

'_It was finally time for Hero training!'_

I had been so pumped up through lunch that I barely made conversation with Ochako, Midoriya, and Iida, who sat with me. There was a part of me that hoped Todoroki would join us, but he never came. Tomorrow I was dragging his ass to our table so I can socialize with everyone that I'm starting to care about.

All the students we're fidgeting in their desk, but not saying anything. Class started two minutes ago, and no one would dare speak until All Might got there.

"I AM HERE! Coming through the door like a hero!" All might slid into the room.

'_He's here! He's really here'_

The energy around the room was infectious. Everyone was gasping or giving All Might praises. Everyone quieted down as he spoke, "Welcome to the most important class at UA High. Think of it as "Hero-ing 101. Here, you will learn the basics of being a pro. And what it means to fight in the name of good. Let's get into it. Today's lesson will pull no punches." He held up a note card that said 'Battle'. "But one of the keys of being a hero is…LOOKING GOOD!" The wall started to move, and a panel popped out holding metal briefcases with numbers on them. "These were designed for you based on your quirk registration forms and the requests you sent in before school started."

Everyone screamed. We were getting our hero costumes today and the whole class was loving it. After getting directions on where to go after suiting up we made our way to the locker rooms. Once again there was very little chit chat. Everyone was excited to put on their new costumes and I was so exception. I opened my briefcase and gasped. It was exactly like I had ordered. I even drew the designs myself to make sure I got what I wanted.

I pulled out the costume and all the accessories. I may have gone a little overboard with the small details, but I seriously has nothing else going on in Japan when we got the packets to submit our designs. I really thought about how I wanted my quirk represented and I am so satisfied with the results.

I slid on the skintight one-piece swimsuit like jumpsuit. It was white with thin gold stripes. Once all my armor and accents were on, you'd barely see it. That's right, I was going to have armor in my costume. I was a Holy Knight after all. My armor was blue with gold accents. I wore a chest piece, shoulders, and thigh guards all with the same color of armor. I also had thigh-high armor boots and armored gloves all with the same blue and gold color scheme. The under skirt I wore under the thigh guards was white. At the very end of the skirt were little blue and gold jewels to weight down the undergarment and keep it from riding up. The skirt and thigh guard didn't come all the way around my body. It was split open so my legs could move their fullest. The last touches to the costume was my white and gold belt to keep my skirt and thigh guard in place, and lastly my head piece. My head peace was a crown like headband. The piece was blue but had a white and gold crown on stop. Lastly it had twists of gold metal that shot out where it met me ears. The pieces of medal were about a foot out from my head and had soft white feathers attached to them. Giving me a second pair of wings on my head. I opted into the wings on my head for those times when I can't fit my normal wings into a public setting. It was my signature after all!

I had everything on a little earlier than some of the other girls and decided to give myself I once over in the mirror with my wings out and all.

'_I look absolutely perfect. The very image of a Holy Night!' _

I walked just outside of the locker room while the other girls finished up. I wasn't going to leave without them, I just wanted to be surprised by everyone's costumes as they walked out. When they finally did come, we all had a little freak out sheesh of complementing everyone's choices. The girls made me feel so good about the costumes choices I made, I walked up oozing confidence to the boys.

After we all found each other outside the locker rooms, we made our way to where All Might had directed earlier. When we arrived at the zone we had to enter through a smaller tunnel. It really did create a dramatic entrance for us naturally. Everyone had their heads held high and shoulders back. This was the first time that many of us truly felt like heroes, and we owned it.

"They say that clothes make the pros, young ladies and gentlemen, and behold, you are the proof! Take this to heart. From now on you are all heroes in training!" All Might bolstered as we entered the training grounds. "This is getting me all revved up. You look so cool! Now shall we get started, you buncha newbies?"

As All Might got ready to explain the rules of today's training, I got a chance to look around to everyone's costumes. Some were flashy, like Aoyama, and others were very practical, like Yaoyorozu. Some would say her costume was a little revealing, but they'd be assholes who didn't understand her quirk. Then I noticed my newest friend's choice. Todoroki seemed like the practical type, but his hero costume was anything but. His right side made sense; white shirt, white pants, white boots, but then his left side was just ice all the way covering his red hair and his turquoise eye. I started to wonder if his ice only came from one side, so he made ice like armor to protect his left side. It was very strange indeed.

I wanted to go up and ask him more about it, but I was too late. All Might started explaining the rules of today's training, "Now that you're ready It's time for combat training."

Before he could get more out Iida raised his hand, "Sir. This is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean that we'll be conduction urban battles again?" Iida asked his question.

"_Come on Iida. Just let the man explain." _I sighed heavily which didn't go unnoticed by a few students around me.

All Might didn't let the interruption get him down. He threw a peace sign out to all of us, "Not quite. I'm going to be moving you two steps ahead. Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside. However, statistically speaking, run-ins with the most dastardly evildoers take place indoors. Think about it. Backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs. Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows. For this training exercise, you'll be split into teams of good guys and bad guys and fight two-on-two indoor battles." Tsuyu protested slightly, but All Might continued, "The best training is what you get on the battlefield! But remember, you cant just punch a robot this time. You're dealing with actual people now."

Yaoyorozu spoke up this time, "Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?"

Bakugo was next, "How much can we hurt the other team?"

Ochako, "Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like earlier?"

Iida, "Will you be splitting us up by chance or comparative skill?"

All Might growled, "I wasn't finished talking! LISTEN UP! The situation is this. The villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans. To do that, the good guys will either have to catch the evil doers or recover the weapon. Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they protect their payload or capture the heroes. Times limited so we'll draw for teams."

The Teams

Team A: Midoriya and Ochako and Marina

Team B: Shoji and Todoroki

Team C: Mineta and Yaoyorozu

Team D: Bakugo and Iida

Team E: Ashido and Aoyama

Team F: Koda and Sato

Team G: Kaminari and Jirou

Team H: Asui and Tokoyami

Team I: Ojiro and Hagakure

Team J: Sato and Kirishima

Ochako, Midoriya and I all found our way too each other. Ochako screamed into Midoriya's already pink face, "Wow! What are the chances that I'd get to be on your guys team."

"Yes! This is going to amazing. We are truly unstoppable." I hooked my arms through theirs and looked back at All Might to see who we'd be going up against. Midoriya's entire body went stiff from the contact. His face was now the color of a strawberry. I continued to hold onto their arms and just smile at him.

All Might reached into the boxes and shuffled his hands around, "I declare the two first teams to fight will be.." He pulled out two balls. "These guys! Team A will be the heroes and Team D will be the villians. Everyone else can head to the monitoring rooms to watch."

'_Oh, fucking hell. We're fighting team D.' _My eyes glared over at Bakugo, but he didn't look back at me. He was too busy glaring at 'Deku'.

The class started to leave the area to head to the monitoring rooms. Midoriya looked scared shitless at first, but he then grew a pair and glared back at Bakugo. Bakugo growled at him.

'_Gotta love the toxic masculinity coming from that one.' _

My arm left Midoriya's and I placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked back at me a little surprised. I just looked him straight in the eye and raised my hand to make a fist. I slowly nodded at him. He smiled and raised his hand back at me to make a fist.

'_That's right. We're going to fucking destroy him. Maybe then, he'll finally shut his mouth… or not.'_

All Might directed the bad guys to head into the building to start preparing for the fight. The good guys had five minutes to come together with a strategy to take them out.

Midoriya started the conversation, "We should be on our guard. We're up against Kacchan and Iida after all. Both are extremely powerful. Who knows what they'll pull?"

"Oh, right. Bakugo. He's the one who's always making fun of you." Ochako said while looking at Deku sympathetically.

"And he's amazing." Midoriya looked completely dejected. "He can be a real pain, sure. But his strength and confidence and his ambition, not to mention his quirk. They're all so much greater than mine. But that just means I have to do better. I refuse to lose today."

Ochako smiled at Midoriya, while I continued to say nothing. "So, it's a fated battle between two rivals."

"Oh! I'm not trying to get you two wrapped up in this!" Midoriya panicked waving his hands around.

"Midoriya." He calmed down and looked at me. "Were your team, also your friends. You don't have to ask us to get involved. We already are. Let's get in there and kick some ass, yeah?" I spoke up. He looked over at me. Light tears in his eyes. HE blinked them away and smiled. He nodded at me and then at Ochako. "Okay now that we got that out of the way lets strategize." Before anymore words could come out we heard All Might over the intercom telling us that it was time to start. "Fuck! Okay real quick, Midoriya you know Bakugo is coming for you. We need you to lead him away from the area with the bomb and hold him off. Think you can do it?" He nodded. "Awesome. Ochako, you and I will go and find the bomb and try to obtain it. Remember were up against Iida so we need to be on our toes for his speed." She nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

We quickly made our way into the building as a group. We knew that it would only be a matter of time before Bakugo showed up with all his shouting glory. Until then we were going to stay together and try to find the bomb. We cautiously looked around corners before we made our way around. I left my wings tucked into my back to keep them out of anyones way. The halls were tight after all.

I was starting to get inpatient and question my whole plan, when a hovering Bakugo flew around a corner right in front of us. His hands already had sparks coming off of them to indicate he was about to use his quirk. Like I had earlier guessed, he went straight for Midoriya. With a scream from Bakugo he flew straight at Midoriya. The small hallway filled with smoke making it impossible to see. This was mine and Ochako's chance to slip away and go find the bomb. I grabbed her hand and we took off.

"Deku! You don't need it, but good luck kid!" I quickly called out to him. It was the first time I called him by his nickname. Ochako had called him by it earlier so I decided I would to. We wouldn't let Bakugo have any power over him.

Ochako and I quickly made our way around the building. I recalled from the floor plan that there were only a couple rooms big enough to hold the bomb the villains were protecting. Ochako and I decided to stick together as we checked floor by floor. The 2nd room proved fruitful. I could hear Iida talking to himself. He was rambling various villain phrases and laughing maniacally. I looked over at Ochako who was holding back laughter. Her laughing almost made me laugh. I coughed quietly to shake the giggles away. Once I was under control, I made eye contact with her one more time and nodded. Ochako ran into the room first. She would provide a distraction and I would wait to make my appearance.

"OCHAKO! I SEE YOU HAVE COME ALONE! HAHAHA! What a foolish mistake young hero. You see, if you look around the room you will notice there are no remaining objects for you to use against me. Hahaha." He was playing that part of a villain perfectly.

Ochako and Iida just stared each other down for what felt like minutes. I almost got nervous that she got stage freight. Ochako finally made a dash for the bomb. Iida, just toying with her let her get close, and then ripped it out of her grasp. Her outstretched body collided with the cold ground where the bomb used to be.

"Your complete worthless if you can't touch anything and activate your quirk. Just give up Ochako. There's nothing you could possibly do alone." Iida mocked poor Ochako.

Ochako's face glared daggers back at Iida. He may have been playing the part of the villain, but damn he was harsh. I was about to step in, due to the time limit ringing in the back of my mind. I wanted to give her a chance to prove herself, but I also did not want to lose to Bakugo. Also, from all the sounds of destruction I didn't know how much longer Deku had.

Then suddenly the entire building began to shake, and all the windows shattered. I quickly made my way into the room to see what was happening. I giant hole started to grow in the floor and then suddenly the hole shot up into the next floor, and the next floor, and then finally out through the ceiling. The wind was blowing around like crazy causing my blonde hair to spread all around me.

When I finally made eye contact with Ochako she held a giant cement pillar in her hand weightlessly. She made some cement debris around her float at waist level. She took the giant cement pillar and swung at the floating debris causing chunks of cement to fly over to Iida. Iida quickly dodged to the right leaving the bomb about 20 feet away to his left.

I quickly saw my chance. The room was big enough for me to open my wings and flick myself across the room. Iida saw me almost immediately. He quickly pivoted on his left foot to make a dash to his right for the bomb. For s few seconds the entire world made no noise. Even the ringing in my ears wasn't there. But, just like the quirk assessment test, I was quicker in small spaces. My hand almost found the bomb, but Iida was right on my heels. I looked over my shoulder to see that he was coming in too fast and was about to tackle me and the bomb all together.

"HOLY SHIELD!" I didn't have enough time to summon my Holy Light properly sized so I had to settle for my best defensive weapon.

The blinding light took up the space in front of me. Just before Iida made connection with me a shield just barley taller than me appeared. The shield was made of gold and had soft white designs all over it. Iida wouldn't much appreciate it very much though. I had made the shield a little bigger than normal to fully hide myself behind it. With all my strength I shoved the pointed end of the shield into the ground and pushed my shoulder into it preparing for Iida.

Iida made impact with the shield. His weight ripped it out of the ground taking me down to my knees. The shield grew smaller in size due to the damage, but just enough for me to be able to lift it. As I was taken down to my knees, Iida flew on top of the shield, So now I was holding his weight as well. I was strong, but fuck this hurt.

"Get the fuck off me Iida!." I screamed through gritted teeth as I used my wings and Iida's momentum to lift him over my shoulder and threw him as far as I could. He flew about 15 feet away from me and the bomb. I put my hand firmly on the bomb and summoned Holy Light to protect the bomb from the villains.

Iida screamed, 'THE WEAPON!" With his hand dramatically reached out towards it.

"The Hero Team wins!" All Might screamed through the intercom.

I ran over to Ochako and picked her up in my arms. I was a little too excited because while I was hugging her I lifted us up into the air and flew around in twirls.

"Marina! I'm going to be sick!" She laughed out with a giant smile on her face.

I put her back on the ground and patted her head, "I'm sorry! I just got super excited there. You did amazing."

"You too. We're really going to make some kick ass heroes, aren't we?" She threw a thumbs up at me.

"Did you just say ass? Oh god, I'm already rubbing off on you!" Ochako and I threw some jokes back and forth before I realized we we're totally ignoring Iida.

"Iida you did amazing as the villain. Very believable. I had shivers." I wrapped my arms around my body to hype up the drama.

"Thank you Marina. You two overcame me this time, but I wont lose again." I smiled over at him to show that I accepted the challenge whole heartedly.

The three of us made our way too the observation room. All Might was standing in front of a green screen with the word, 'REVIEW' displayed on it. I took in all the eyes around the room and noticed a missing pair of green eyes. My panic started to rise as I looked more frantically around the room.

Before I could ask any questions All Might started his review, "Well despite the results, the MVP of this exercise is Young Iida! Why didn't I choose one of the heroes? Who has a guess?"

Yaoyorozu's hand quickly shot up in the air, "Sir! I can tell you why." My eyes glared over at her. "Iida embraced this challenge. He was the only one who truly adapted to his assigned role. I'll explain.."

She started to list out every fault that was made by both teams. I'm sure she listed some of mine as well, but I didn't care to listen. I was too worried about Deku to really give a shit what princess thought. Honestly, Yaoyorozu was a nice girl, but she just had this air around her that reminded me of the high society life back in America. It made me nauseous.

After her and All Might went back and forth a couple times, she stood there confidently with her hands on her waist and a small smirk on her face. Everyone looked at her with awe, but I was over all this. All Might announced that it was time to move onto the next match, which would be Team B as the heroes and I as the villains.

Just before Todoroki could leave the room, I grabbed his sleeve. He looked up at me and quickly took a step back. My eyes were glared to a fine point and my teeth were clenched. "Where is Midoriya. Please tell me what happened Todoroki."

Todoroki didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He just looked over my shoulder at Bakugo. Bakugo was glaring at the floor with his teeth grinding into each other. I nodded at Todoroki and quickly flicked around and stormed up to Bakugo. I grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and pushed my face into his.

"You just couldn't fucking help yourself could you, you piece of shit!" Spit flew out of my mouth into his face. He didn't say anything but the aura around him darkened. "All Deku want's is to be a great hero. He's pushing himself harder and harder just to try and catch up to you. So what do you do? Kick him around. Call him names. Treat him like he's worthless." I dropped him to the ground. "If you ask me, you're not worth saving. You should just quit trying to be a hero. You clearly have no idea what it truly means."

Bakugo finally snapped. He reached out for me, but my wings quickly flicked me away from him. He went to charge forward but was stopped by All Might's hands. "Now that's enough. Bakugo you need to calm down immediately and I'd like to have a word with you outside Young May." All Might was not smiling.

I noticed that the other team still hadn't left for the training grounds, so everyone was just staring at me. I pushed through the students and found my way outside the observation room. The teams up next were quickly behind me. Before he walked to the training ground, I felt Todoroki look over at me. I was too embarrassed and worked up to make eye contact with him. He got whatever he needed, because he turned around and went to head towards the exit.

As I was glaring out the window in frustration I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. My eyes turned up to meet the gaze of All Might. All Might was trying to comfort me and I finally broke down. Tears found their way too my eyes and I started breathing shortly.

In a sob I finally got out, "I'm sorry for making a scene All Might. I'm just so angry that I couldn't protect him. I was the one who thought he should be used as bait since I knew Bakugo would never leave him alone. I had no idea he would take it that far. I had no idea that Deku would need to use that kind of strength. I should have taken on Bakugo. I should have been a hero." My knees buckled and fell to the floor.

All Might let me get a few sobs out before saying, "Young May. I know its hard to see ones we care about get hurt. We, as heroes, will always think there was more we could have done. It's a curse of the job. But, let me tell you. Young Midoriya would have gotten hurt no matter what plan you went with. As you know, he still can't fully mange his quirk. Even if you had been the bait, he would not have just sat their and let any of you get hurt. He would have used his power to 'save' you. It's just the hero in him." I finally looked up at All Might. I knew he was right. "Also, Young May, don't doubt yourself. You did amazing out there today. You are going to be a great hero."

I wiped the tears away from my eyes and stood up and looked him in the eye. "Thank you All Might. That means a lot to hear." I smiled up at him. "I know this might be weird, but can you please call me Marina. As you know, I'm from America, so it's really weird to hear you call me May. It's like I'm in trouble or something." A light blush was on my cheeks and I looked out the window avoiding eye contact.

"Alright then. May it is! Let's head back to the rest of the class." All Might waved me along and I followed.

When we got back to the observation room, everyone's head turned towards me, but didn't say anything. I found a comfy place to sit against the wall. Ochako made her way over to me and sat down. She didn't say anything. She also looked upset. We just stared up at the monitors to watch the rest of the class take their turn. We stayed like that through all the reviews and other students fighting each other. Not saying anything or picking anymore fights. Today drained me and I was over it.

When Mock battles were finally over, All Might pulled us all together outside. He congratulated us on our first day and praised us for how well everyone did. He then announced that he would go check on Deku and for the rest of us to return to class.

The rest of the day was just Aizawa going over the results of the mock battles. He viewed somethings differently than All Might, so it was nice to hear his take on things. The day came to an end. Some of the students had mentioned that they wanted to stay and wait for Deku to come back from recovery girl before heading home. I decided that I would just catch up with him tomorrow. He already had an entourage waiting for him anyways. That would make him feel good.

I started gathering my things and looked over at Todoroki. He had also finished putting all his things together.

I was a little shy after my freak out from earlier, but I was a 'rip the band aid off' kind of girl. "Hey Todoroki. You want to walk together since we're going the same way anyways?" He didn't say anything but nodded. I smiled at him before throwing on my bag and heading out the door.

I made sure that my pace was even with his. Like earlier that morning, we had fallen into a comfortable silence. The day was coming to an end and we were surrounded by and orange glow from the coming sunset. It was still warm enough to not have a jacket on. The world around me put me at such an ease. I hadn't even noticed but I started to hum one of my favorite songs. It was a slow sad song but had a sweet meaning. Todoroki didn't seem to mind, and we just kept walking.

When we arrived at the station, we had to wait for our train to show up. We both found a spot on the benches to relax and wait.

I was the one to finally break the silence, "Today was crazy, wasn't it? Sorry I didn't congratulate you after your match. I was in my own world, and that wasn't fair to you. You did amazing! I can't believe how strong you are. I'm a little jealous." I started to smack his arm with light pats. A huge smile on my face.

Todoroki didn't comment on his battle at all. He just had one simple questions, "Marina, why did you stand up to Bakugo for Midoriya? Don't you think it's not really any of your business?" I could tell he had no malicious. He was genuinely just curious.

"He's my friend Todoroki. I always stand up for my friends." I smiled up at him. "You know, one day you may even need me, and you bet your ass I'll be there for you." I punched his arm slightly.

Todoroki seemed taken back. He didn't say anything and looked off into the direction the train should be arriving any moment. "Thank you, Marina."

My eyes snapped to his and for the first time in our short friendship, I saw Todoroki smile. It was a small smile, but a smile all the same. "Anytime, Todoroki." I grabbed his hand, squeezed, and let it go. He made he contact with me. There was a slight blush on his cheeks. He quickly looked away from my gaze.

'_I'm breaking down his walls. Adorable!'_

_**END**_

**AN: Marina in her Hero Costume will be my profile picture while I work on this story! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 4: Democracy**_

Todoroki and I found each other outside the train station just like yesterday. I was sitting on a bench with my headphones in when he showed up. A smile found its way to my face and I waved at him. Todoroki smiled lightly at me and waved back.

"Good morning Todoroki!"

"Morning Marina." He sat down next to me. He closed his eyes and pushed his head back to relax until the train got there.

He looked so incredibly peaceful, so I didn't say anything more to him. We just sat there enjoying each other's company. I had one ear open from headphones just in case he talked to me. When the train arrived, we stood up and entered the train. We took a seat close to the back.

"Hey Todoroki, I was thinking, wouldn't it be fun if every day we ride together we share one fact about each other? It could be something easy like… What's your favorite color?" I looked over to him expectantly

"White." Straight to the point. I love it

"Awesome! I like wearing white, but my all-time favorite color is gold. You'll notice all my weapons I create are gold and white. Our two favorite colors go so well together!" I smiled and looked out the window. "You pick the question tomorrow okay Todoroki?"

"You know to be more efficient we could just write a list of things we want to know about the other." He was looking right at me. I started to notice that when we we're together he would just hold his stare right on. Almost like he was studying a different species.

"No! We must take our time. It will make us savor it. I'm the friend expert remember. Trust me!" I lightly slapped his shoulder laughing at him. Todoroki just sighed and nodded at me. We sat in silence the rest of the ride to UA.

When we finally arrived, we instantly noticed the frenzy of reporters. It was a mad house. As soon as I saw all the cameras and reporters I started to shake. I knew that eventually my mom would find out where I was, but it was too soon. If she found out too early, she may be able to find a way to have UA drop me. Her connections were never ending it seemed.

My mind went blank and I stopped moving. I was panicking. My entire life here could be stopped. If UA was convinced to drop me, I would be forced to go back to America. I had no other options. I put all my eggs in this basket, and it was about to collapse.

Todoroki noticed that my steps next to him went silent. He looked over his shoulder and was shocked to see the complete panic on my face. He didn't think I'd be camera shy, and he was technically right. He turned around to face me completely and grabbed my shoulder.

He spoke calmly and softly, "Marina, are you okay? Is it the cameras?" I could only bring myself to nod at him. Still not moving from my position.

He nodded in understanding and, to my shock, he grabbed my hand and started to drag me away. We walked around to the back of the school still hand in hand. He let go when we were on the opposite side of the building and I instantly missed the warmth. We were faced with the back wall of the school. They made these walls huge and thick on purpose to keep out any intruders.

"Hey Marina, can you fly us over? I promise if we get in trouble for using our quirks, I'll explain that it was unavoidable." His look of determination made me realize that he really would fight the teachers on this and who could argue with that face. It left no room for questions.

I was in my uniform though, so things were going to start getting weird. I started to take off my blazer and put it in his hands when I was done. I then started to undue the buttons of my undershirt, "Listen Todoroki. I can't ruin my uniform so…. I'm going to have to go down to my bra. I really don't care if you look. I'm not modest, but I should still warn you." Todoroki didn't turn around, but his eyes didn't make eye contact with me. With the final button I was completely exposed to the dual haired boy, but he was a gentleman and didn't directly look at me. I decided to leave my tie on because I really hated tying them.

So, there I stood. Black lace bra and red tie with a green miniskirt. If anyone walked by it would be a really weird situation to explain. I instructed Todoroki to turn around, which caused him to raise an eyebrow at me, but he complied all the same. I slowly pushed myself up against his back. He flinched a little when my chest pushed into his back, but my arms wrapped under his arms holding him in place.

"Okay I'm going to lift you. Hold on as tight as you can. I got you though. Don't worry." I whispered into his ear. His body went stiff against mine. I'm sure my breath tickled his ear, but he didn't say anything, so I just continued.

My wings flew out behind me as I hugged the back of Todoroki. As I tightened my grip on him my wings took us up into the air. With him not being used to flying I took us slowly up higher and higher and then slowly over the wall. Normally I wasn't a huge fan of carrying people while I flew unless they were in need of emergency, but Todoroki was so kind to me earlier, I needed to repay the debt. I wasn't going to make him walk all the way around the school again. He'd end up being late to class.

Our feet finally found the ground and I quickly let go of him, once again, missing the warmth. He was quick to hand me back my clothes. I started to putt my clothes back on. I was a little embarrassed. Not about the nudity, but by the freak out of the cameras.

As if Todoroki could hear my thoughts, he stated factually, "Marina. You know that it's going to be really hard to become a pro hero if you're camera shy." His gaze pierced my soul.

I looked away from that piercing gaze and at my feet. We both arrived early for class, so I had time to tell him a part of my story. To only know someone for a couple days and be bringing this up was not what I wanted. I also felt that I owed him some kind of explanation, "Todoroki, thank you for your concern. I promise I'm not camera shy." I continued to look at my feet. "It's a long story to explain, but the short version, I can't have my mom know I am in Japan yet. She's a monster and she would come here and ruin everything I'm striving for, and I can't let that happen." Light tears found their way to the corner of my eyes. I finally looked at him blinking away the tears. I bowed to him in apology, "I'm sorry that I've caused you so much trouble today. I can't tell you what it means to me Todoroki, for you to go out of your way to help me." I kept my eyes to ground, refusing to look up at him.

I felt an oddly warm hand on my head. He tussled my hair and said. "Isn't this what friends do Marina? Isn't that what you said yesterday." I finally looked up at him. Fresh tears rolling down my face. A huge smile found its way to my face and more tears fell to my now pink cheeks. I nodded enthusiastically smile still on my face. He removed his hand from my head. "Let's head to class." He started to walk away from me, and I skipped up to his side. My arm found its way though his locking us together. We walked the whole way to class like that. Only separating when we reached the doors for the school.

'_Yesterday I told Todoroki that I would be there for him, and then today he had to be there for me.'_

The start of the day in class was Aizawa once again going over the combat training from yesterday. Today he was really tearing into us. His first comment directed at Bakugo, "Bakugo, you're talented so don't sulk like a child about your loss, okay?" Bakugo muttered a response of annoyance. "And Midoriya. I see the only way you won the match was by messing up your arm again. Work harder. And don't give me the excuse that you don't have control over your quirk. That line is already getting old. You can't keep breaking your body while training here. But your quirk will be really useful if you can get a handle on it. So, show a little urgency, huh?" Deku was nervous when Aizawa started, but now had a full smile on his face. "Lastly Marina." My eyes shot open and a lump was found in my throat. "Please find a way to use your words calmly when disagreeing with a classmate. We don't condone students picking fights with other students just because they don't like each other. Work it out." He glanced between Bakugo and I.

I will admit I was a little pissed. It was okay for Bakugo to go full rage mode on Deku because they were in a mock battle, but it wasn't okay for me to put my hands on Bakugo and call him out on it. I didn't feel like arguing with Aizawa though, so I simply nodded and kept my eyes off Bakugo.

"Alright. Let's get down to business. Our first task will decide your future. You all need to pick a class representative." Aizawa stated lazily.

All hell broke loose in the classroom. Students started screaming and making bids about why they should be elected. It was actually comical to watch. I thought it would go on forever, but Iida was quick to hush everyone. "Silence, everyone, please! The class representative's duty is to lead others. That's not something just anyone could do. You must first have the trust of every student in the classroom. Therefore, the most logical choice is to fill this position democratically. We will hold an election to choose our leader." Iida's words were confident, but his whole body was shaking. Everyone was also quick to call him out on the fact that he just wanted to be leader.

After a little back and forth from all the students the classroom finally decided on voting for our new leader. Aizawa didn't care he just wanted us to get it over with quickly. I was having a really hard time on deciding on who to vote for. There we're a couple people that would make sense. Yaoyorozu being a big one for me. She was well spoken and well educated, but after looking over at her I just got this pit in my stomach that she couldn't handle the extra pressure. Maybe I just didn't know her well enough, but my vote still wouldn't go to her.

Todoroki was someone I knew well. He was smart and strong, but not very good with communication. As I thought more and more about it, I couldn't remember him really talking to anyone but me. I really adored him, but he wouldn't be a good fit either.

Iida was just a little too strict for me. If he was voted class rep, we'd probably never hear the end of his voice. He was nice but had a tendency to be a stick in the mud. My vote didn't find a home with him either.

After looking all around the room I had finally decided to give my vote to Deku. He was a sweet kid who truly cared about everyone. He also came into his quirk late, so he wasn't arrogant at all. Lastly, he was smart and knew how to communicate. He would make the prefect leader for our classroom.

'_Plus, he'd probably let me get away with anything.'_

A coy smile fell to my face and a maniacal laugh left my lips as a wrote his name down. Ochako and Todoroki both threw me concerned looks but I just waved it off. They would thank me later for getting Deku as our leader, no matter my selfish motives.

It was finally time to cast our choices and Iida went around the room collecting the votes. I held my breath in hopes that my extra vote for Deku would somehow secure him the win.

Election Results

Izuku Midoriya – 4

Momo Yaoyorozu – 2

'_YAY!' _

Everyone in the class started to gossip about the results. Iida was sulking and I ended up feeling bad for the kid. He didn't get any votes. I didn't either, but that didn't hurt me. It was only the third day and I had picked a fight with Bakugo twice. I also wasn't someone who had high morals. Lastly, my grades weren't that great. My mom did force me to learn all sorts of things, but it had nothing on the schooling system of Japan. I survived, but just barely with my grades.

I will say I was happy for Deku, and totally thought he was the best choice for the class, but kid was shaking like a leaf. Yaoyorozu stood confident and tall. Her hands were on her hips as If she knew she deserved to be there. Deku, however, needed more confidence.

LUNCH TIME

It was finally time for lunch, and I was so happy. I stretched in my chair causing my back to pop. It felt incredible. Ochako stood up from her desk and looked over at me.

"Marina! Come have lunch again with us today." She grabbed my hand and pulled me from my chair, not waiting for a response.

I laughed at her, but quickly remembered that I wanted Todoroki to join us today. "Okay I will. Todoroki!" He snapped his eyes over to me as he was about to walk out of the room. "Sit with us at lunch today." He was far enough away from us at the front of the room, that he could have declined and ran off. I was pleasantly surprised when he nodded in agreement.

We met up with Deku and Iida outside the classroom and heading for the lunchroom. It was a short walk, but when we opened the doors it always felt like another world. Our class only had 21 students, so it always felt small and inclusive. The lunchroom, however, was its own small city. Every student from UA ate at the same time. They hired the pro hero Lunch Rush to make us all food and I think it was the only reason everyone was taken care of.

The tables always filled up fast and it was always hard to get your lunch and still get a spot for a group. I found the perfect spot across the cafeteria. "Hey guys, I'll go hold our table and get food when you all get back." I ran off before anyone could protests. In a school full of heroes, it was always hard trying to go out of your way for someone. Everyone was so quick to try and make you feel good that shit rarely got done without an argument. It was one of the main things different from home. My friends all loved each other but we treated each other like shit. We said it was out of love but coming to school here made me start to rethink the true meaning of friends.

I didn't have to wait at the table very long anyways. Lunch Rush was a pro after all. The group started to take their spots next to me. I was about to rise from my chair to go and get some food, but I stopped when Todoroki put a bowl in from of me.

I eyed the bowl of noodles and dipping sauce quizzically and then threw my eyes to Todoroki, "What's this?"

"Cold Soba." He didn't even glance my way.

"Ah, I see. That's very nice of you Todoroki. You didn't have to get me my food though. You're so sweet." I playfully slapped his shoulder over and over.

"You said you wanted me to get you some sometime, thought it was a perfect opportunity." He was already digging into his lunch.

I fake gasped and threw hands to my cheeks, "Todoroki! This is not what I meant. I meant that you will have to take me on a date to get cold soba. I feel cheated. I guess you will have to just take me on a date for another reason." He choked on his noodles and eyed me suspiciously. I stuck my tongue out at him. "Just kidding! Thank you, Todoroki. This looks delicious." His cheeks were pink, but I didn't mention it, I never did.

I picked up my chopsticks and grabbed some noodles. I dipped the noodles in the sauce provided and shoved them all into my mouth. The whole time Todoroki was looking at me out of the corner of his eye to gauge my reaction. As soon as the sauce hit my tongue I sighed heavily in completely content. I quickly repeated the process and took another bite. I looked over at Todoroki as I was chomping down and gave him a thumbs up. It was feeding time and words were not going to be given. He smiled and kept eating his food.

Ochako was watching the entire interaction with a smile on her face, "Marina, You and Todoroki seem pretty close. Did you guys know each other before school?"

I swallowed the giant bite I had just taken. "No, not at all. I only got to Japan about 2 months before the exams. I met Todoroki the same time all of you did. We just take the same route to and from school. We get a lot of extra bonding time then. Right Todoroki?" He just nodded and kept eating his Soba. "Oh! Speaking of after school, did you guys still want to get coffee and talk quirks more? Todoroki and Iida, you guys could totally come too! Deku wanted to learn more about my quirk so I thought it'd be fun for us to finally go get coffee this weekend. I seriously don't think we'll ever feel up to it after school at this point. Hero training just loves to kick our asses every night." They all nodded in agreement; Hero Training was ass kicking.

Ochako and Deku confirmed they could meet this weekend. Iida said that he was going out of town, but if something changed, he would love to come. I looked up at Todoroki with big puppy eyes. Hanging out outside of school on the weekend was the ultimate level of friendship. This was going to be a big step for us. I was more excited about seeing what Todoroki would say due to how closed off he typically was. If he agreed to come it would show that he really was starting to care about our friendship.

I held my breath as I waited for his answer, "Yeah I think I can make it."

I screamed in excitement, "Yay! I'm so happy you can come. Everyone pullout your phones so we can send phone numbers around. Iida you too! You might be able to come, but even if you can't I still want your contact info." Everyone took their phones out and started sharing contact info.

The rest of lunch everyone just talked about the election and what they thought about the results. Deku was worried and didn't feel good enough for the class rep job, while Iida encouraged him. He then started to talk about his family's business, "Observing the Iida family's hero agency has taught me that much at least." My ears perked up at this. Talking about family stuff always instantly put me on guard.

"Y'know. I've been wondering something about you. Admit it, Iida. You're filthy rich!" Ochako asked him with eager eyes.

"Uh, I was afraid people would treat me differently if they knew about my family." Deku and Ochako were completely enthralled. I had an annoying pit in my stomach, and I could feel Todoroki's eyes on me. "You see, the Iidas have been pro heroes for generations. It runs in our blood." As this point, I was done. I need to leave the table.

"_IT RUNS IN YOUR BLOOD MARINA. MY BLOOD IS YOUR BLOOD." _ My mind kept replaying the memory.

I slammed my chopsticks down a little too hard. "Hey guys, I'll meet you back in class. I'm going to go outside and get some fresh air before we have to be back." I stood up from the table and collected my things.

I was planning on going alone, but Todoroki stood up right next to me. "I'll go with you. I'm done anyways as well." I didn't protest.

I waved goodbye to the group and started trekking back to the classroom. Todoroki was right by my side. We we're well outside of the lunchroom and we got to the point where we would need to turn to exit the school and I just kept walking. Todoroki didn't ask, but he looked over at me to try and read my face. He wouldn't find anything. I got good at burying the pain my mother caused a long time ago.

We were a couple doors away from our classroom when a loud alarm of bells started to blare. My eyes quickly flew to Todoroki's and my hand instinctually found his.

"Warning level three security break. All students, please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion." A female voice over the intercom instructed us.

Only it wasn't an 'orderly fashion' at all. Students started to smash into each other and quickly make the spacious halls feel confined. Students were screaming in fear and pushing each other to the floor. I was too overrun with other students to summon anything. My wings would just hurt other students if I tried to open them in these conditions.

I was trying to think of a plan when a large ginger haired boy collapsed into me. His weight took me by surprise and my hand lost Todoroki's. The boy fell to the ground and pulled me down with him. Students we're going to trample us if we didn't stand up. The ginger haired boy was on top of me so I couldn't do anything with out hurting him. I was starting to run out of air. His overweight body was crushing my lungs.

There was a sudden chill in the air. I heard a loud crash and students scream. I finally saw the light of day when Todoroki grabbed the ginger haired boy and threw him off me. The boy's knees hit the ground, but he stood up quickly and ran off crying.

I quickly noticed that he was able to run off because Todoroki cleared a path with his ice. Students were quickly starting to fill up the space he made though. Him and I made eye contact and for the first time in our young friendship Todoroki's face showed anger. He reached out for my hand and I grabbed his. When I got to my feet he quickly and forcefully pulled me to his chest and flipped us around to that my back was to the wall. He used his arms and his legs to shield me from the students that had filled up the empty space.

His hips were pressed into mine. His chest pushed against my breasts. He leaned in and whispered into my ear, "Are you okay? I got you now Marina." It could be the recent lack of air, but my head was spinning. For the first time in a long time, I couldn't think straight. My hands wrapped around his body and my head buried into his chest and I just nodded. My heart was thumping wildly against my chest and I don't think it was fear.

We stayed like that until the intercom told all the students that it was a false alarm and to calmly report to class. This time everyone did exit calmly. They were too drained from the recent terror to do much else.

As the area around us started to clear Todoroki and I separated. I wanted to thank him, and I totally will soon, but I just needed to get my mind together. Earlier I had pushed my bra only covered boobs up against Todoroki and it felt nothing like this. My heart was pounding, and my legs were shaking with desire. I needed to calm my shit down before engaging anyone at this point. We both walked back to class not saying anything to the other. We were so close when this all started that we were easily the first ones back. Each of us took our seats. Todoroki started to get things out he made need for class, but I just sat there and stared at the empty chalkboard. My mind going a million miles a minute and still not really thinking about anything.

The room started to fill up with the rest of the students. I decided to shake off the crazy that was the last twenty minutes. I had convinced myself that all these weird feelings for Todoroki were due to the circumstances. I was already lightheaded and then add the stress of intruders in the school. That had to be what it was. I wasn't here to start developing feelings for my fellow classmates. I just wanted to focus on school and making new friends in a new country. I wasn't going to blow a good friendship for any romantic funny business.

With my mind finally cleared I looked over at Todoroki, "Hey Todoroki." His gaze found mine, "Thank you. You know, for earlier. I will admit thought that's twice today that you've had to rescue me and for someone becoming a hero, I must say, my pride it wounded." I dramatically sighed and threw my hand over my heart. I then laughed a little and winked at him. "But seriously, thanks."

Everyone had gathered in their seats and class started with the reps in front of the class addressing all of us.

In true Yaoyorozu she started the conversation, "It's time, class rep. Let's begin." She looked over at Deku for him to get started.

Once again Deku was shaking like a leaf, "Um, so yeah okay. We need to figure out who the other class officers will be. But firsts there's something that I wanna say. I've thought a lot about this. And I think that Tenya Iida should be our class rep! He was able to capture everyone's attention and get us in line. So, I believe that he should be the one leading our class from now on!" Deku had a big smile on his face by the time he finished. Even though I voted for Deku, I was starting to understand that Iida would be a better choice. Deku still hadn't learned how to look over half the class in the eye.

"Yeah, you know what? If Midoriya vouches for him, I'm good. Plus, he was a big help today. He totally manned up and took charge, right?" Kirishima stated from his seat.

Pretty soon the whole room was filled with Iida's praises. During the panic of the students Iida took charge of the situation by calming everyone's stresses. Todoroki was my hero today, but Iida was the hero to everyone else. I looked over at Iida while everyone was praising him, and he was awe stricken. It really made me see Iida in a new light. I thought that he was the overconfident, know it all, type, but I was mistaken. He, just like me, was trying to get out of his family's shadow and make a name for himself. That was something I could respect.

Iida accepted the position and that was it was time to move on with the day. Aizawa stood in front of the classroom and addressed all of us, "Today's training will be a little different. You'll have three instructors. Me, All Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you."

"Sir what kind of training is this?" Sato exclaimed from his chair.

Aizawa held a card out in front of his face that read 'RESCUE'. "Rescue training. You'll be dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, stuff like that." The room grew loud with everyone's excitement. I'll admit, even I was excited. "Guy's I'm not finished yet. What you wear in this exercise is up to you. I know you're excited about costumes but keep in mind that you haven't gotten used to them yet, and they might limit your abilities. This special trainings at an off-campus facility, so we'll be taking a bus to get there. That's all. Start getting ready."

Ochako was quick to call out my name, "Marina! Are you going to wear your costume?"

"Yeah I have to. My costume is a little heavy, but I can't use my wings in my uniform. Well, unless I want everyone to see me in just my bra." I laughed and looked over at Todoroki. A nice pink tinted his cheeks.

'_Ah, so he did look.' _

Somehow that thought made me happy. At least I was still sexually desirable. We all gathered our things before heading to the locker rooms to change. This rescue training had me all excited. We were getting the chance to work with three different pros at one time. That meant a lot more one on one time with the pros. Today was going to be the best hero training. I could already tell.

_**END**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 5: Villains**_

We gathered outside the school in front of the bus that was to take us to the training facility. Most students had made the chose to wear their costumes like me. I personally loved putting on my hero costume. It was almost like putting on a mask or maybe it was unlocking a different version of myself. A better version. A knight was someone who held morals above all else and that was not who I truly was.

Being at UA was starting to make me feel a lot more self-conscious, everyone here was so pure. It was a hard role to follow. When I put on my hero costume, however, it was like I was getting a chance at living up to the hype. It made me get a warm buzz all over my body. My wings craved to be on full display, but I decided to let them stay hidden for now. A bus was not the place to let them be out.

Iida tried to take control of the students by getting us to line up in formation of our student numbers. Everyone sweat dropped at the sound of his whistle and his barked orders. I found myself glaring over at Deku with every blow of the whistle.

'_You could have changed all this.' _

The students started to line up and board the bus. The funny outcome to all of this is that the bus was not a proper bus with two person seats. It was an open lay out, much like a swat van. Everyone could look at each other. There was some two person seats in the back however. It was funny but also annoying that we had to listen to Iida for so long and there was no reason.

'_Oh well. What are you going to do?' _

On the bus I picked a seat in the back with Todoroki. We we're seatmates for life after all. Everyone was gabbing with excitement for the training, well except Iida. He was still bummed out that his seating strategy didn't make a difference. I was only have listening to the conversations around me. I only fully engaged when Tsuyu, who wants us to call her Tsu, commented on Deku's quirk.

"That power of yours. Isn't it a lot like All Might's?" I never thought about it before, but she really did have a good point.

"What? Really? You think so, huh? I never really thought about it. I guess it's kinda similar." His voice was shaky.

'_hm, now I'm intrigued. That clearly was a bullshit answer. Deku is so obsessed with quirks that there was no way he wouldn't have made the connection. Plus, he loved All Might." _

"Wait, hold on, Tsu. You're forgetting All Might doesn't hurt himself. That makes a huge difference." Kirishima chimed in.

"All Might is also a grown adult who's had plenty of time to train his body and his quirk. Deku is a 16-year-old boy who just got his quirk. I don't think it's a fair reason to say that their quirks aren't similar." My thoughts came out without me containing them. I twirled the end of my hair. Curling it in and around my finger. Everyone nodded at me. Deku looked white as a ghost, so I decided to throw him a bone, "But what do I know. I'm not as educated as Deku on quirks, so if he says they aren't the same, I'd believe it." I smiled at Deku and he tossed me a thanking smile right back.

"Still, I bet it's cool to have a simple augmenting-type 'a' quirk. You can do a lot with flashy stuff like that. My hardening is super strong, and you can destroy bad guys with it in a fight, but it doesn't look all that impressive." Kirishima lifted his arm and activated his quirk to demonstrate for us.

"Oh, no way. I think it's really awesome looking. You're definitely pro material with that quirk." Deku encouraged him.

This then got the group talking about flashy quirks and who had the best.

"Well if any of our classmates have flashy pro quirks its Todoroki, Marina, and Bakugo!" Kirishima pointed out.

My pride swelled and I looked over at Todoroki. He was asleep. I poked him in the side and he grunted. He only opened his turquoise eye at me to indicate that he was awake the whole time.

I whispered to him, "They're talking about us! They think were flashy and cool."

"Sure, but Bakugo's always angry, so he'll never be that popular." Tsu shared factually.

I busted out laughing. I laughed so hard my sides hurt and I started coughing like I was dying. I couldn't stop. Todoroki opened both eyes and looked at me with a little concern. Bakugo however was not having it. Originally his anger was directed at Tsu, but he seriously hated me more, so it instantly turned to me and sadly I was in the seat behind him.

"The fuck you laughing at pigeon? It's not like you're an angel either. God forbid someone disagrees with you. How many times have you already gotten in my face?"

"Well that's because I think you're garbage. People can disagree with me, just not you." I smiled charmingly up at him as if to prove that I could stay calm around him.

"You know, you're a real bitch, and I'm starting to get sick of seeing your face." He growled and leaned over the seat.

I decided to play chicken with him. I stood up and leaned in as close as I possibly could without our lips touching. I ignored everyone's stares, especially the icy one coming from Todoroki, "Well then, why don't you do something about it stud?" Bakugo was completely caught off guard.

He couldn't think of anything to say. He also didn't want to be the first to pull away, because that would mean I had dominance. There was only one way to win this, I pushed him quickly and forcefully. He was taken by surprise and took the hit. He tried to catch himself, but his hands slipped on the railing that was in front of his chair. His body flew over it back first and he found himself looking up at the ceiling from the benches of the open area on the bus.

I started to laugh again. Harder this time, "I seriously think he's going to kill Marina this time." Deku's voice was shaking from the front of the bus.

Bakugo jumped to his feet. He glared daggers at me, and I heard the popping sound of his quirk start to activate. My laughing stopped and my eyes narrowed at him. Just daring him to come at me. I felt Todoroki stiffen next to me. I put my hand on his just to hold him in place, while maintaining my glare at Bakugo. I didn't need him saving me a third time. I started this fight and I'll see it through myself.

"That's enough everyone. We're here. Stop messing around." Aizawa stood up and glared at all of us.

'_Messing around, yeah, let's call it that.' _

Maybe Bakugo wasn't as mad as I thought. He quickly left my stare and started to head to the exit of the bus. All the other students, I included, we're quick to follow him out. We all piled out of the bus and waiting for further instruction. We we're getting to be good little heroes in training. We we're quickly greeted by our surprise guest hero.

'_It's Thirteen!' _

"Hello Everyone. I've been waiting for you!" Thirteen cheerfully greeted us.

All the other students were just as excited as I was. They gasped and squealed in excitement. A big smile was on my face. Deku and Ochako looked like something in their brains broke. They were big fans clearly.

"It's the space hero thirteen. The chivalrous pro who's recued a ton of people from disasters around the world!" Deku screamed for the students who didn't know.

"Whoo-Hoo! Thirteen is one of my favorite heroes!" Ochako screamed from her spot right next to Deku.

Thirteen ignored the outburst, "I can't wait to show you what's inside!"

This was when I finally took a chance to look at the building. It was a huge done. Bigger than any sports arena I'd have ever seen. The dome was made of square pieces of glass making up thousands of windows. It was clean and pristine too.

'_UA has that mad money..' _

When we walked in, we were met with a wide-open view of the entire training complex. Around the giant room there was different zones for different trainings. Each zone was a theme from a real live natural disaster. There was a mountain, there was a lake, there was a crumbled city, and so much more. My eyes couldn't really contain what they were seeing. There was just so much.

"I created this training facility to deal with different types of disasters. I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. But, you can call it USJ!" Thirteen through his arms our and proudly exclaimed.

"Hey, shouldn't All Might be here already? Lemme guess, he booked an interview instead." Aizawa walked up to Thirteen. His hands in his pockets.

"Actually, it's something else. Apparently, he did too much hero work on the way to school this morning and used up all his power. He's resting the teachers lounge." Thirteen replied to Aizawa. He also put three fingers in the air. I had no idea what it meant.

"That man is the height of irresponsibility." Aizawa sighed and then turned to us, "All right. Clocks ticking. We should get started."

"Excellent!" Thirteen exclaimed, "Before we begin, let me just say one thing. Okay, maybe two things. Possibly three, four, or five."

'_Dude just speak." _

Everyone agreed with me and said as much. He continued, "Listen carefully. I'm sure you're aware that I have a powerful quirk. It's call Black Hole. I can use it to suck up anything and turn it into dust. My quirk could very easily be used to kill. Some of you also have powers the can be dangerous. In our superhuman society, all quirks are certified and stringently regulated, so we often overlook how unsafe they can actually be. Please don't lose forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly. Even if you're trying to do something virtuous like rescue someone. Thanks to Aizawa's fitness test, you have a solid idea of your quirks potential. And because of All Might's combat training, you likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against other people. Carry those lessons over with you to this class. Today, you're going to learn how to use your quirks to save people lives. You wont be using your powers to attack enemies or each other, only to help. After all, that's what being a hero is all about. Ensuring the safety of others."

We all had smiles on our faces. My hand laid over my heart and I could feel it pounding against my armor. I was good at fighting, really good actually. But his words were why I wanted to be a hero. My mother taught me all the wrong things, but I knew this is what UA represented. This is why I came here.

"That's all I have to say. Thank you for listening." Thirteen bowed to the class, and we all cheered for him.

"All right. Now that that's over." Aizawa stole the attention of the class, but it was short lived.

The lights that went around the entire dome started to pop and spark like electricity was being surged through them. My wings flew out on their own accord. A chill ran up my spin and I flew back about 5 feet. I landed in a crouching position, glaring over Aizawa's shoulder. He must have felt it too because his eyes widened and flipped around to glare down at a fountain.

"Stay together and don't move." Aizawa barked at us, "Thirteen. Protect the students!"

All the students started to get idea that something bad was happening now. They had looks of confusion on their faces, not sure what could possibly have gotten into a UA training center. I felt my teeth grind together in anticipation. My wings flattened out to the sides of my body. They were ready to take me into the air if need be.

That's when we finally looked down behind Thirteen and Aizawa. Down by the fountain a large black hole with purple started to form. It slowly got bigger and bigger. Then we saw them, villains. The black and purple mist was a warp gate. In America I had seen similar quirks, but to be able to transport this many people, the user had to be strong. More and more villains just kept pouring out of the mist. They were filling up the lower area by the fountain.

Some of the students gasped while others thought this was part of the training. Something this crazy, had to be planned right? I don't know why, but I knew this wasn't training. This was an ambush and someone here was their target.

"Stay back!" Aizawa's tone left no room for question. My body still hadn't moved anyways. Aizawa pulled on his glasses that improved his quirks abilities. "This is real. Those are villains." Everyone gasped this time. I felt my body start to tremble, much like everyone else around me.

Villains stopped appearing out of the warp gate. There was over fifty villains present. They all had on various costumes that were meant to terrify. There was one guy who had various hands all over his body. He even had one that covered his face and two around his throat. It gave me the ultimate creep vibe. I could feel the air being squeezed out of my throat just by looking at them.

The wrap gate started to decrease in size. It slowly started to take on the shape of a tall man. He spoke in a deep voice to the hands guy, "The only real heroes I see are Thirteen and Eraser Head. Perplexing. According to the schedule we retrieved from UA, All Might should be here as well." Now the mist had glowing yellow eyes glaring up at Aizawa.

"So, you scumbags used the press as a cover and sneaked onto campus." Aizawa demanded an answer but received not.

"Where is he? I went through the trouble of bringing so many friends who're eager to meet him. They want All Might. The Great Symbol of Peace. I can't believe he's not here. Maybe if I kill a few kids, he'll come out to play." The man with the hands all over his body finally spoke. His voice was sinister and laced with amusement. This was fun for them. Just a game to talk about murdering all of us.

Aizawa was instantly on the defensive. His scarf released from around him. This was the first time that I'd ever seen it on full display Aizawa was going to do everything in his power to stop the villains form reaching us.

"What? Real villains? No way. How could so many 'em get into a UA facility this secure." Kirishima protested.

"Yeah Thirteen, why aren't the alarms going off?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Good question, I'm not sure." Thirteen responded.

"Is the entire campus under attack or is this their only target" Todoroki finally spoke up. His eye's never leaving the incoming villains. "Either way, if the alarm sensors aren't being triggered, then one of these villains must have a quirk that's masking their presence here. They carefully chose this isolated facility as an entry point at a time when class was being taught. They're fools for trespassing here. But they've though this out. Whatever their plan, they must have a concrete objection in mind. But what is it?" The students gasped. This was the most Todoroki had ever spoken in class and he finally got to demonstrate to them just how smart he really was. This wasn't something he did intentionally, just a reaction caused by his words.

"Thirteen, get them out of here and alert the main campus." Aizawa demanded. "Actually, if they've got the abilities to block our sensors, then they might be jamming our regular communications, too. Kaminari, try using your quirk to contact the school." Kaminari got to work immediately but to no avail.

"What're you gonna do? You can't fight them on your own!" There's too many of them. Even if you could nullify their quirks, your fighting style isn't suited for this." Deku franticly called out to Aizawa.

"You can't be a pro if you only have one trick. I'll leave it to you thirteen." Aizawa quickly jumped away from the students.

He landed right in front of three of the villains. He was quick to nullify their quirks, which sent them into panic. Having someones power ripped away from them can cause that too happen. He then used his scarf to wrap around each of the villains. He drug all three villains into each other, causing them to collide and be knocked out. Aizawa continued using his combat moves and his scarf to quickly do away with the villains. One by one they would try to attack him, and he would overcome.

During this the students finally got it through their heads that it was time to go. We all started to sprint for the exit. I could have flown, just like Iida could have sprinted away, but everyone decided to stick together behind thirteen. We were just about to the exit doors when the black and purple mist from before started to grow on the floor right in front of us.

The mist took his 'human' form and started to talk again, "It's a pleasure to meet you. We are the League of Villains. I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello." Thirteen put his arms out trying to shield us from this lunatic. "And besides, isn't this a fitting place for All Might, The Symbol of Peace, to take his last breath?" I felt sick. If they thought they could kill All Might, how strong were they really? "We were told he was supposed to be here today and yet I see no sign of him. There must have been some sort of change in plans we could not have foreseen. Ah, well, in the end, I suppose it doesn't matter. I still have a role to play" The human mist started to grow giant black wings.

Thirteen felt what was about to happen and popped his finger open that contained Black Hole, his quirk. Bakugo and Kirishima lunged for the Villain. Making it impossible for Thirteen to use his quirk at that moment. Bakugo caused a massive explosion to go off filling the area in front of us with smoke.

"Holy Light!"

I summoned my protection of light around my classmates that stayed behind. With Thirteen using his quirk, I had to leave him out of my protection. He would have destroyed the barrier with his quick instantly. My Holy Light was incredible weak from the inside. It wasn't used to keep people in. My classmates all threw looks my way when they felt my protection.

"you live up to your school's reputation. But you should be more careful, children. Otherwise, someone might get hurt. I'll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades, and your deaths."

The villain lost his human form and spread into a huge black and purple mist taking over the area we we're around. The black mist covered Bakugo and Kirishima taking them into the darkness. It quickly found its way to my shield of light. The mist covered the entire dome of light. With all the students being under my dome of light, it was bigger than I would ever use in battle. I held out my arms as I felt the dome wanting to crumble under the pressure of the mist. My classmates said words of encouragement, but I couldn't hear them. My legs started to shake and I was taken down to me knees.

"Everyone, I can't hold it. Prepare yourselves." I screamed. My nose started to bleed, and I had completely lost feelings in my legs.

My dome of light started to shatter like glass. It started with one crack. Then there were hundreds, slowly making their way to each other. The dome finally collapsed and disappeared. The mist covered us. My wings lifted me off the ground and I brought my arms up to my face to prepare for whatever came next. At this point I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything. It was like being in space. There was nothing. My heart started to pound, and I felt myself wanting to scream out.

That's when I felt the familiar feeling of falling through the air. Light started to flood my eyes and I could see again. I was suddenly in a different part of the USJ. Before I could fall to the ground though, my wings caught me. I saw from my vantage point that everyone has been spread across the USJ. I quickly made the decision to fly to the Landslide Zone where I saw a familiar head of White and Red hair. Todoroki was alone unlike most.

When I flew down to him, he had already taken out all the villains surrounding them. He had them caked in ice unable to move. He stood tall and eyes narrowed at the villains. When I got closer, I realized he was lecturing them like they were incompetent children.

"So, the plan was to scatter us, and then kill us." Cooled breath was visible out of his mouth, "you were woefully unprepared. In fact, it looks to me as though you've had no training. You haven't the slightest idea how to use your quirks." He still hadn't noticed me, and I wasn't going to interrupt his moment. Todoroki walked up to one of the villains caged in the ice. "Listen Well, if you stay frozen your body succumbs to frostbite and hypothermia. Luckily for you, I want to be a hero. So I'd like to avoid any unnecessary cruelty." He put his hand inches away from the villain's face. The air started to drastically cool around it. "But I can only do that if you tell me how you plan to kill All Might. That's the only way to survive."

The look on Todoroki's face was sinister. I couldn't stop my heart from pounding in my chest at the sight of his face. He looked so cruel and uncaring. Nothing like the friend I had started to grow fond over. Was this the kind of hero Todoroki was going to be? Is it wrong of me to understand why he's doing what he's doing? Ethics were always a hard area for heroes. Never knowing if your crossing that invisible line.

"I know nothing man! I'm just a low-level grunt here. They just told us that we'd get the chance to be part of killing All Might. They never told us how. I swear!" the villain screamed as tears attempting to pour down his eyes but froze almost instantly.

"Todoroki!" I shouted from the skies.

Todoroki flipped around and looked up at me. My eyes narrowed down to him, trying to see what he would do next. When his gaze didn't leave mine, I flew down to him. When I landed my legs were still a little weak. I didn't stumble, but my landing looked a little more dramatic than I intended. My knees bent slightly, and my wings flapped to put me back into the proper place.

After my super-hero landing, I brought my eyes back to Todoroki's. My gaze was unmoving.

"Now what?" I asked him calmly but sternly.

Todoroki hesitated for a moment before dramatically sighing. He turned back around and placed his left hand on the ice. My eyebrow raised a little at him, because I had never seen him use his left side before. The ice quickly started to melt. That's when it hit me. Todoroki had two quirks. He was hot and cold. He could freeze or burn. I hadn't really though much of the scar that surrounded Todoroki's left eye, but now I found myself curious.

'_I'll never force that story out of him. I'll wait till he feels he can trust me with it.' _

"Marina, could you please tie up the enemies. My ice will soon be melted." I was about to smile at him and accept, but his beautiful turquoise looked back over his shoulder and held me in place. "Also, please don't look at me like that again. That hurt more than I can handle." My heart broke.

How could I have not trusted him. Todoroki was truly good. He had showed me nothing else. I should had known he was bluffing. My heart pounded in my chest, but I nodded at him and accepted the rope he held out to me. It took us a while to bind all the villains, but once we got them out of the way we we're able to head on.

"Todoroki, do you want me to fly us to where Aizawa is? From the looks of these villains here, those 3 we left back there are the most dangerous. He's going to need help." He nodded approval and turned his back to me. "Sorry Todoroki, we're in a hurry. This is going to make you feel super unmanly, but remember, that doesn't matter when people need our help." He turned back around and looked at me confused.

I walked up to him and grabbed his arm and put it around my shoulder. I then put my other arm under his knees and picked him up bridal style. He clearly had a blush on his face, but none of that mattered now. With a firm grip on him I made my wings carry us into the sky. We flew fast. Faster than I normally would with others, but Todoroki proved himself to be a hero and I knew he could handle it.

Before I took us down to the ground, I took in the sight below us. Aizawa was in bad shape. He was knocked out cold and Deku was dragging him away from the fight. That's when we saw him. It was All Might. He had made it in time to save us. He was currently in a head to head match with that evil looking bird villain. That thing seriously gave me the creeps.

After we had a better gauge to what was going on, I flew us down to the ground just a little ways away from All Might to not get into his way, but still be there if anything came up.

Right after we landed All Might got a good grip on the bird-man-thing and went to slam his head into the ground. The Warp guy from earlier stopped this from happening by creating a gate for Birdman to slip through with just the top of his body. The Birdman drew his claws into All Might causing his body to be held in a London Bridge position. From where I stood, I could hear All Might's back cracking and popping due to the strain. He was going to snap him in half.

That's when I saw Deku sprint into the fight screaming. He had his fist up and ready to punch whatever he could inside the purple mist. Just before his hand was about to make contact, Bakugo flew over his head releasing a giant bomb at the mist villain that was now protecting Birdman. The bomb landed against the mist villain. Bakugo had his hands around what appeared to be some sort of silver neck brace on the mist villain. Todoroki also took this moment to make his entrance and freeze the Birdman who was in halves due to the warp gates. All Might took the opportunity to pull himself from the Birdman's claws and flipped over to where we all stood.

Kirishima now joined the party but was aiming for Handsy who stood away from the fight. Handsy easily dodged his attack by leaping back. "Damn! That was going to be so cool!" Kirishima yelled in frustration.

"I found your body that time your smoky bastard!" Bakugo had the mist villain pinned to the ground still. Bakugo wore a huge devilish grin.

"The symbol of peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you." Todoroki spoke in his facts voice.

I summoned my Holy Sword and Holy Shield. I held the shield up protectively, but quickly positioned the sword right behind it. I was ready for whatever may come our way. "Especially with us having his back!" My eyes narrowed over to Handsy.

Handsy glared over to the mist villain that was pinned under Bakugo, "Kurogiri." Ah, we had a name for the mist villain now. "How could you let this brat get the best of you? You've gotten us into a real jam here."

Bakugo chuckled and glared down at Kurogiri before sneering, "Heh, you got careless, you dumb villain. It wasn't hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turn into that smoking warp gate. You use that mist to hide your actual body as a distraction. Thinking that made you safe." Kurogiri tried to stand up, but Bakugo set off his bombs and held him in place.

Handsy looked down at Birdman, "Nomu."

Nomu started to screech. His head sinking down into the gate which meant that it would come out the other gate. Todoroki gasped and I bent my knees into a ready position. I could see that the ice was not going to hold him any longer. All Might took a step forward as well but started to cough up blood. He held his hand to his mouth to try and stop it, but another cough came. Chills ran up my legs and arms in anticipation of what was to come next.

Nomu pulled himself all the way through the gate so he was out of it now. His arm and leg were still trapped in ice. With little effort Nomu tore his body away from the ice, leaving his arm and leg attached to the ground and no longer on his body. There was no blood. No screams. Just a dead stare from Nomu looking at All Might.

"Stay back everybody!" All Might screamed. He through his arm out trying to get in front of us to take the hit.

Nomu's arm and leg that were once missing started to grow back and an accelerated rate. First his muscles and then slowly his black skin. Turns out Nomu had more than one quirk. Shock absorption being the first, and now super-regeneration. Things just got a lot harder.

Before I could think too much about it, I summoned Holy Light, but just around All Might. The barrier wouldn't do shit, so I just focused on the healing. The wound from where Nomu's claws dug into his side started healing. All Might also seemed surprised by the healing and looked right at me. This was a mistake, because he took his eyes off Nomu.

"What!? They have a healer!? That's no fair. No fair at all. Nomu. Take care of it." Handsy screamed in a whine.

All Might's attention snapped back to Nomu, but it was too late. He was on the move in my direction. It happened faster than my eyes could see. One moment Nomu was twenty feet away from me, the next he was right in my face. He lifted his fist and I held my shield up. My wings started to pull me back away from him, but they weren't quick enough. It took some of the impact, but not nearly enough. His fist connected with my shield. The result from the impact sent a shock wave around the room. I swear I heard my name screamed, but I couldn't make out who. My momentum was already going back, and I was already slightly in the air when the impact was made. This all equaled up to me flying across the room. My back hit a wall with so much force that my back or wings had to be broken. The sound when I hit was a pop like I had never heard before. I felt a scream try to leave my body, but nothing came out. I had no air to scream. My vision had little black dots and the room was spinning.

I'm not sure how long I stayed like that, but by the time I came too Bakugo had lost Kurogiri and all of my classmate were surrounding me. Most had their backs turned away and were looking at the ongoing fight between All Might and Nomu. There was one mismatched set of eyes staring right at me when my world finally came back.

"Marina, are you okay?"

"How can you be worrying about me right now? What's going on?" I tried to lift my body, but the pain was overwhelming. I bit into my lip and held back the yelp of pain. I tried to rely on my wings to lift me, but they wouldn't. I was scared to ask, but I was pretty sure one had to be broken.

"You need to stay down and rest. You should be dead after taking a hit like that." Todoroki put his hand on my shoulder and tried to keep me in place. The pain of his touch caused me to hiss at him. He recoiled away from the sound.

'_fuck. This fucking pain. I am useless. I can't be useless.'_

I looked out at the fight in front of me. All Might and Nomu were going blow for blow, but now there was two villains unoccupied that could attack us at any time. It would even be a great way for them to distract All Might from the fight. I needed to bounce back from this. I had already used my Holy Light twice now. I was getting low on power for it. If I pushed it for too long, my nose would start to bleed, and I would get a severe migraine. If I kept going after that, I would pass out and be even more worthless. I could heal myself just to that point, but that would be the last time I could use it.

I summoned Holy Light around me. There was a way I could speed up the process, but it was a little embarrassing in public, but I had no choice. This move was my ultimate heal. It only worked on me and I could only use it once a day.

I started to pray out loud, "Almighty God, Eternal Father, Lord of Lords, have mercy upon me, a humble knight in Thy Divine Service. Oh Lord, I pray for Thy indulgence & blessings. Forget not Thine servant in his trials, nor his Order of Knighthood. I pray, that Thy Will be done in all things, both great and me always be worthy of Thee, let me not forget Thee in good times nor bad. Armor me with the armor of Thy Righteousness, give me the sword of Truth that I shall confound Thine enemies and be unto Thee a true knight."

The light that surrounded me became blinding. The heat that covered my body was intoxicating. All my cuts and bruises instantly faded. The pain in my back was no longer a thought. I heard my wing pop back into place, proving that it was indeed broken. My wings flew out to the sides of my body and my fanned out around my frame. I held my hand over my heart until my whole prayer was completed. My mother had once told me that this was all psychological and that there is no way that my quirk would manifest because of a prayer, but it was the only way for me to use this power up. It may seem like ultimate power move, but it has one major drawback.

Todoroki, Deku, and Bakugo's eyes left the fight and watched my recovery in awe. Even the villains glared over at me. The light around me started to fade. My wings went out into a battle stance while I summoned two holy swords in each hand. I twirled the swords around and stopped with them pointing in the direction of Handsy and Kurogiri.

Remember the draw back of the power I mentioned before. "Villains! How dare you enter this holy place of education to sully it with your unworthy hands. God frowns on those that wish to commit sin onto others and an act against god and his children with not be allowed. I, a true Holy Knight, will defeat you and all you stand for on this day." I became a whole different person. My attitude changed. I shouted words that I would never say. I wasn't even religious. Like my mother said, it was more than likely psychological.

All my awed classmates now had their mouths wide open and giant sweat drops on their heads. No one said anything. They didn't need to. I knew this was crazy. It wouldn't stop me from completing my duty though.

I charged with my two swords drawn at the villains. I flicked my wings to get me there in a blinding speed. Handsy flipped away from me and just missed my blow. I didn't stop though. I went to flick my wings again when a warp gate was opened in front of me blocking my path. I quickly summed Holy Light right in front of it, but this time as a horizontal circle. I used the barrier as a steppingstone to push my momentum up and over the warp gate. I had to use my wings just to get me over and as I reached the top of the gate, I glared down to see Handsy. With all the force my wings could muster I threw myself down at Handsy, swords ready.

He screamed out for his minions help, but it was too late. He was mine. I collided with his body. I landed on his chest, causing him to fall onto his back. My legs pinned each arm to his sides and my swords found his throat, just daring him to move. I could have gone for the killing blow, but that was not possible in this mindset. I was a Holy Knight, and murder was never acceptable.

"I have you villain. Don't you dare move. Call off your soldiers and admit your sins in the eyes of God."

I heard a hiss from the villain below me. Kurogiri didn't make a move towards us. He knew the position his leader was in. I could take his head just by uncrossing my swords at Handy's neck.

All might screamed, "You may have heard these words before, but I'll show you what they really mean. PLUS ULTRA!"

This caused me to look back over my shoulder. All Might had punched Nomu with all his strength. The giant birdman flew into the air, hitting the ceiling of the USJ, and then flying through miles and miles away. We had done it. We had taken out the main threat and the boss. This battle was won.

A chuckling below me caused my attention to snap back at the villain under my body. "You should have killed me when you had a chance."

Handsy was able to get one of his hands free while I was distracted. His hand reached up and grabbed my armored wrist. I quickly pushed his arm back down with my leg, but it was too late. My armor started to dissolve. It started to spread up my arm. I only had one choice. My wings flung me back to my companions. I quickly dropped my swords, causing them to disperse back into light particles. My opposite hand frantically found the bucked that held my gloves on. I unhooked it and the remained of the glove fell to the floor.

During this the other students were surrounding me to make sure I was okay and to help if I needed anything. Todoroki and Deku's eyes were wide in concern and hands were held close to me. All Might now glared at the villains across the way.

"Didn't you say you were here to kill me? Well, come and get me if you dare." All Might's face was dark and fearsome. I wouldn't go after him with a face like that. Handsy gasped and jumped back a little. Clearly, he wasn't ready to face him either.

Todoroki grabbed my now naked hand, "There's no reason for us to fight now. He'll handle this. "

As if his words has casted a spell on me, I fell too my knees in complete exhaustion. Todorki's hand followed me down and he crouched next to me to make sure I was okay. My persona was gone. I could feel her slip away into the back of my mind. She was no longer needed. The battle was over. I leaned into Todoroki's body and his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I didn't have the energy to put my wings away so they just fell behind us on the ground.

"Come on Midoriya we should regroup with the other guys." Kirishima called out to Deku who was closer to All Might than the rest of us. "The last thing we want to do is get taken hostage or get in his way."

I looked over at Deku and the look on his face caused my blood to run cold. He was looking at All Might with complete Terror. Something wasn't right. I looked over at All Might. I couldn't see what he could, and it drove me crazy. I went to stand up, but Todoroki's arm held me in place. My face found his to plead for him to see what I see, but I was met with a glare that wouldn't take its focus from me.

"What? Are you scared?" All Might taunted the villains. The villains didn't make a move, but there was something I heard it All Might's voice. He was panicking.

Handsy started to lose his shit. His fingers started to scratch at his neck desperately. He started talking to himself, "If only Nomu were here. He'd rush you right now. Pound you into the ground without giving it a second thought."

"Tomura Shigaraki! Please, do not fret. Look at him. He has definitely weakened. Nomu's attacks were successful." Kurogiripleaded to his boss, also giving us his name once and for all. "He's on his own. The children appear to be frozen in fear and their angel is useless. And, look, our underlings are recovering. We likely still have a few minutes before their reinforcements arrive. If you and I work together, we can do this. We haven't missed out chance to kill All Might."

My stomach dropped. They weren't going to give up. I don't think they ever would. Todoroki's arm left my shoulders and he stood up in front of me. His back to me and his arms spread out to protect me. Once again, he was trying to save me. Tears of frustration found their way to my eyes and I tried to stand up. My legs wouldn't move. I tried to have my wings get me to my feet, but they couldn't even rise off the ground.

'_Goddammit!'_

Shigaraki stopped scratching his neck, "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. This is it. We have no choice. We have to do it now. I mean, the big end-boss is right here." The students gasped. Shigaraki charged All Might, "Consider this revenge for what you did to Nomu!" his hand reached out to touch All Might. Kurogiri also started to charge in. His warp spreading out widely.

That's when I saw Deku flying through the air towards the villains. His teeth were gritted but his eyes didn't waver. His legs were floppy behind him. I heard myself scream. I couldn't summon anything to help him. I couldn't even move. The tears flooded down my face and my hand reached out for him. The other students were too shocked to move. No one saw this coming.

"Don't you touch All Might you stupid Villain!" Deku shouted.

Just before his fist connected with Kurogiri he opened a warp gate. Shigaraki's hand flew through the gate. It was inches away from Deku's face. My mind flashed back to my armor melting and I let out a blood curdling scream. Shigaraki's laugh filled my ears and caused vomit to rise in the back of my throat. I found my legs and wings finally lifting me with all my strength, but I then fell into Todoroki's back. I couldn't even take one step forward. I couldn't bring myself to look at what was about to come next. I buried my face into the back of Todoroki's shirt and let out a sob.

Shigaraki's hand was mere centimeters away from Deku's face when the loud sound of a gun going off made me pull my eyes away from Todoroki's back and look at Deku. Shigaraki's hand now had a massive hole in it where a bullet had gone through.

"They're here!" All Might exclaimed.

The other teachers and heroes of UA had arrived just in time. All the suspense left my body. I fell back to my knees again. Todoroki coming down with me. With all the strength I had left I pulled my wings into my back. It hurt like hell, but I knew someone was going to have to get me out of here and the wings added a lot of weight. As soon as my wings were in, Todoroki scoped me up onto his back. The teachers quickly took care of the rest of the villains. They were no match for them. Kurogiri created a warp gate and got him and Shigaraki out of the USJ. My face buried into Todoroki's neck and I closed my eyes. If it made him uncomfortable, he wasn't letting me know at all.

All the students came together just outside of the USJ. I hadn't said anything on the trip out of the building to Todoroki. I just kept my face buried. He had stopped and talked to some students here and there, but they never engaged me. They had asked him how I was doing, and he has told them that I was whipped out. When we finally came to a complete stop, I brought myself to causally peak over his shoulder. I wasn't ready for questions, but I just wanted to get a gauge on how everyone was.

One of the paramedics ran up to us and started to look me over worriedly, "Young man, I can take her. She needs to be looked over. Well contact her parents to let them know how she is." He reached his hands out to take me from Todoroki's hands.

My heart pounded against his back. I turned my face away from the paramedic and made a small whining noise in Todoroki's ear. He didn't know the whole story, but he knew enough. I did not want them calling my mother. I didn't think the school had her contact information, but I couldn't risk questions getting asked.

"It's okay. I've got her. She just overused her quirk. I'm going to take her back to class." Todoroki quickly turned away from the paramedic and started heading for the locker rooms.

Once we arrived at the locker rooms, he lowered himself to the floor and I crawled off his back. I thanked him for getting me this far and slowly limped into the locker room. None of the other girls had arrived yet so I assumed I had plenty of time. I didn't know why they wanted us to return to class anyways, but I couldn't imagine we would stay for long. Our teacher was out of commission and we were all spent energy wise.

I stripped myself of my hero costume and headed into the shower. On my way over I put my hair in a high messy bun. I didn't have my shampoo with me so I couldn't wash it. I normally didn't take full showers at school, but I was covered in nasty from todays events. The hot water running down my back felt so good on my over used muscles. I had enough energy to let my wings out to give them some access to the hot water. They had also gotten dirty and could use a little scrub.

I stood in the shower for what felt like hours. I heard the locker room door open and I decided that it was my queue to get out. I turned off the water and shook of the water from my wings. The feathers dried almost instantly. I had forgotten to bring a towel with me so I just used my wings to shield myself. My wings wrapped around my body tightly, soaking up the water that remained on my body.

I started to head to my locker when I spotted the girls. Everyone looked so tired. Ochako and I made eye contact and it was like the weight of the day just hit me. Villains broke into the school to kill All Might and then attempted to kill us. They could have succeeded if the teachers hadn't shown up to save the day. While my eyes were still locked with Ochako's, tears started pouring down my face. Ochako also cracked and tears started to fall from her eyes.

Even though I was completely naked and just covered by my wings, I ran over to her and through my arms around her. My wings were pinned in between us. Her arms found their way around me and we cried together. The remaining girls joined our hug. Some cried, some remained strong, but all of us felt the hurt and terror of today weighing on us. This was our first experience with villains and it left a scar that was to never disappear. We now knew what our future would hold if we continued down this path. I could only speak for myself, but today would not stop me. If anything it just showed me why pro heroes were needed. Dozens of villains were perfectly okay with murdering a bunch of children, just for the chance to kill All Might. This world was broken and we were the glue that would put it back together.

The remainder of class was pointless. We just sat in the classroom with a Present Mic and were told to work on our homework. When we were finally released to head home everyone left quietly. We were all ready for the day to be over. I collected my things and made my way for the door. Todoroki waited for me like always.

The trip home was quiet. It wasn't until the train ride that I pulled out my phone and realized just how big of a deal today was. It was all over the news. The attack on UA. I had multiple missed calls from Nova. I instantly felt bad. I had gotten into the habit of not bothering checking my phone throughout that day and I didn't think what that would do to my friend oversea. I ignored all the voicemails and tapped on Nova's contact to call her.

The line rang once before Nova answered, "Mari! Are you okay? What the fuck happened? Did you fight the villains? Why are you in Japan? This fucking stupid. You need to come home. This Hero bullshit is dumb. You're rich and beautiful, you don't need that shit." She started sobbing on the other line. I could tell from Todoroki's expression that he was caught off guard, but I wasn't in the slightest. This was Nova. She felt so hard. She often spiraled with use of her quirk.

"Nova. Babe. I'm okay. I'm here and I'm okay." I whispered into the phone. Tears started falling down my face. "Today was hard." I let out a sob. The tears just wouldn't stop. I was talking to Nova and my walls were completely gone.

Todoroki just stared at me. His face was blank. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't used to such honest emotion. "Marina. What can I do?" A desperate question.

Nova instantly snapped back into a better mood, or maybe she was trying to change the subject now that she confirmed that I was okay. She just couldn't help asking, "Oh, Marina. Who are you with? Already making new friends?" She was pouting, but not seriously. She would be genuinely happy for me to make new friends. She knows how lonely I get.

"I'm with my friend Todoroki. He's in my class and also my neighbor. We're heading home after the crazy that was today." I smiled at Todoroki. He didn't have to do anything to make me happy. Him just being by my side was enough. I couldn't handle being alone right now. "Todoroki, Can you walk me home to my door today. If it's too far our of the way, that's okay. I just could really use the company today." He nodded quickly confirming that he could handle that.

"Marina. Are you already inviting school mates to your house that you're all alone in. Scandalous. I thought you'd wait at least a month or so longer." My face turned a light red and my sassy personality started to come out.

"Ohhhh that's a real funny thing for someone like you to say." My eyes turned dark and a devilish smile came to my face. "I could start listing a few 'true' stories about some things that you have done that would make me look completely innocent in comparison." My hand flew up to my mouth and a gasp came out. "Just imagine what my pure friend Todoroki would think about my dear friends back in America. He may lock me in a cage and never let me return home to my perverted friends." Nova and I both started laughing. "I miss you Nova. So much."

"I miss you too. I don't care what it takes, I'm going out there soon to see you. If something big comes up for you, let me know. I'll be there."

"Nova! Don't be silly. You can't waste money like that right before college." My friend even offered to move here with me, but her parents and I fought together to make her stay home. She couldn't throw her life way just for me. "Hey babe. I got to go. Our stop is up. I love you and I'll talk to you soon."

Todoroki and I left the train. We walked side by side. Normally we parted at the station. His house was in the rich part of the area. The area that was on the other side of the creek outside my balcony. He lived closer than I could have imagined. Every time I went out to the balcony and took in the sounds of the creek, he was right in front of me. We were fated to be friends after all.

Todoroki had never been to my house before so he let me guide the way. It was subtle and you probably wouldn't have noticed if you were watching us, but it was completely different than his personality. He always guided us. I hadn't noticed really until now. The change was noticeable for me. We finally reached my apartment. He followed me up the stairs and all the way up to the door.

Surprisingly Cho was sitting outside his apartment door smoking a cigarette. His dark purple eyes followed us up the stairs and to my door. Luckily the stairs were right in front of my door because I was right on the end of the row of apartments. It would have been so awkward to squeeze by him. Cho looked intimidating to most people. Dark Purple eyes and bright red hair that he wore medium and spiky. He had face and ear piercings. Tattoos all over his arms. He would have been a totally normal guy in America. Maybe that's why I didn't get too nervous around him.

I unlocked the door and pushed it open to go into my apartment. Todoroki turned to leave but my hand reaching out to him stopped him. "Hey Todoroki. About today, like pretty much all of today, thank you. You were so kind to me and looked out for me it was crazy." I spoke as light as I possible could without whispering. Cho's purple eyes and raised eye brow stared right at me

'_Bastard is watching me be embarrassed right now!'_

"Marina. We're training to be heroes. It's our job to protect everyone we can." His mouth turned into a light smile after that and looked me right in the eyes. "Plus, We're friends, and you're pretty much my first one. I really don't want to mess this up." His shoulder shrugged.

I couldn't help the energy that just ran through my body. Before I knew it I jumped at Todoroki and through my arms around him in a tight hug. I was so happy. The biggest smile was on my face and my cheeks were tinted pink. I don't know how, but Todoroki and I had gotten close in a short amount of time. I still didn't know a lot about him, but he knew so much about me. He was learning my habits and ways to make me happy. Maybe he wasn't even doing it on purpose, but that would be even better. Light tears streamed down my face and I could tell I had made Todoroki freeze again.

It was actually starting to get cold around us. I realized that Todoroki must have accidentally let his quirk out with a puff of cold air. I let go and pulled away from him. Before I could get a good look at his face he turned around and quickly walked down the stairs. "I'll see you at coffee tomorrow Marina." Todoroki still didn't turn around.

Todoroki was officially across the street and out of the apartment when I looked over to Cho who was the most sinister grin. I swear his teeth were pointed into fangs. "Wow May, can't even keep a guy around for 2 minutes. You completely scared the shit out of him. HE RAN AWAY!" Cho threw his head back and mocked me. I didn't say anything. I just flipped him off and slammed my apartment door behind me.

Today was over and I was going to get a little drunk. Cho had pissed me off and it was the weekend, so I hooked my phone up to my Bluetooth speaker and I turned the music up all the way. I then made the decision that I was going to drink and dance the night away. That was exactly what I needed right now. I just needed to feel free. I even started to take off my clothes to just my underwear and let my wings out.

I let all the emotion of today go. I took three shots and started to sing. My hips swayed and my wings followed. I probably looked ridiculous from outside. Luckily the only opened window was the balcony. A big smile found its way to my face. I ran out onto the balcony and started across the creek at he trees from the rich part of town. Todoroki was right there. Well somewhere in there. That feeling filled my heart. For the first time in a long time it felt like I wasn't in a home all alone. He was right there.

**_END_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 6: Coffee and Quirks**_

Before I even opened my eyes to start my first weekend break from school this year, I knew that last nights actions were a mistake. My head pounded and my mouth was dry. I had stayed up way too late drinking and dancing. Also, you know, the whole villain attack yesterday had some effect on my sleep. Nightmares plagued my dreams. Images of a disintegrated Deku played on repeat. I had watched Tomura Shigaraki come inches away from melting my friend's face off. I had also gotten too close to him without realizing the dangers of his touch. Jumping into a battle without knowing what you were facing was a rookie mistake that I couldn't make again.

I finally got the courage to open my eyes to the morning light. I instantly flinched and closed my eyes again. The sun was going to murder me, but I had made a promise to go out for coffee with my friends today. Without opening my eyes, I felt around my end table searching for my phone. I found it and pulled it to me. I threw my head under the blankets for protection and started a group message.

After texting everyone we had decided to meet at 12pm at this cute little coffee shop a station away from the school. UA was in a really busy part of the city, so we decided to avoid it directly an opted in for a smaller quieter place. It was currently 9am so I had a little bit of time to get ready. My hair was a mess from yesterdays chaos and with how long it was, it would take up to about an hour to get it ready alone.

Getting coffee may not have seemed like a special occasion, but today meant a lot to me. It was the first time hanging out with my friends outside of school. Especially after the events of yesterday, we could all use a break and just be kids for a bit.

I finally got the urge to get my ass out of bed. I decided not to draw the blinds so I could adjust to the light. Today was going to need a lot of coffee and Ibuprofen. Coffee was to come later so I walked into in my bathroom and had a nice breakfast of pills and water. After that was taken care of, I drug myself into the shower. The shower process took about 30 mins of my get ready time. I accidentally fell asleep in the shower and only woke up when the water started to get cold.

After the shower process it was time for the taming of the hair. This required blow drying and because I really hated myself, I decided to curl all my hair in nice loose curls. My hair normally went to my waist, but when I curled it, it would shorten a little bit. Some may have thought the extra weight was too much, but after carrying around two wings for your whole life, it felt like nothing.

Seeing as today was special I went all out on my make up. Normally during school, I didn't wear a lot, but today I should be avoiding any battles so I shouldn't sweat it off. I covered my face with light foundation, high lighter, and a modest contour. I did a silver smokey eye, black mascara, and black cat-eyeliner. My lips, I just put on a nice red stain. I finished this all off with a nice make up setting spray. My makeup would not budge until I scrubbed it off later tonight.

Face and hair ready, I only had 20 minutes before I needed to leave for the station to make sure I made it on time. I was never someone to be late. The outfit I had planned days in advance. It was a cute short black dress that hugged me in all the right places. It hung off one shoulder and was quarter sleeved. I paired the dress with black thigh socks and black lace up booties. It was cute, but comfy as hell.

After getting myself all put together, I gave myself a once over. I spun in the mirror admiring my work. I looked perfect for a cold spring day. I looked ahead and saw that there was a chance of rain in the forecast and I was completely ready for it. I loved rainy days. It was a perfect excuse to be lazy around the house.

I was taken from my thoughts by a knock on the door. I looked down at my phone and saw that I needed to be leaving soon if I wanted to make it on time. Whoever it was would have to hurry up because I needed to leave. With a heavy sigh, I walked to the door and opened it.

I was caught off guard by a casually dresses Todoroki. He was in dark skinny jeans and a grey loose-fitting swoop necked long sleeve. Even in casual attire he was still handsome. I felt a blush creep to my cheeks as I looked him up and down.

"Good Morning Marina. I thought we could walk to the station together." He greeted me. I completely ignored that fact that he had to walk out of his way to get to my house.

"Todoroki! Good morning! I wasn't expecting you, so I still need a couple things. Come on in while I finish up. It's just me here so don't stress out."

I walked into the house and beckoned for him to follow me. Luckily, I always kept my house pretty clean. The only thing incriminating was the bottle of tequila that I had left on the counter from the night before. I wasn't embarrassed, I mean, if Todoroki and I were going to be friends he'd have to get used to my not so great parts too.

Todoroki followed me into the house and sat on the couch while I ran around trying to get my things together. In my hero life, I seemed to have everything put together, but my personal life I was scattered. I never seemed to put things back where they belonged while I cleaned. I was trying to find my black small purse so I didn't have to take my school bag, but I just couldn't find it.

I tore things out of my personal closet. There were so many shoes but no purse. I started to get annoyed and curse here and there. "Ah, here it is. FUCK, never mind. Where the fuck are you, you stupid fucking bag."

Todoroki poked his head into the room that was now a mess of clothes and shoes from the bottom of my closet. "Marina, do you need help finding something?" His eyes traveled around the room and then back to me. I blushed harder than I have in a long time.

"Dude, my room is never this dirty. I just can't find my stupid purse. I used it last weekend to go shopping, but now I can't find it." Todoroki pulled himself from the room.

As he walked away, I completely emerged myself into my closet. It had to be on there somewhere. In under five minutes Todoroki walked back into the room. He was concerned when he couldn't find me. "Marina?" I grunted from the closet alerting him to my presence. He walked around the corner to my closet and found me in a pile of clothes and various goods. "Is this the bag?" He held up my little black purse and I jumped for joy.

The only problem was that this closet was not tall enough to stand up in. My head banged on the shelf inside the closet and I fell back down to my knees. Todoroki laughed at me and held his hand out to me, but with my pride wounded I ignored him and crawled out on all fours. I grabbed the bag from him and walked over to the bed where my school bag sat. I dumped out the contents of my school bag all over the bed. The mess was already going to require my full attention later, so this was nothing extra.

I grabbed a couple items I needed form my bag and put them into my purse. Ignoring the last 10 minutes I flipped around to Todoroki and smiled confidently, "Okay I'm ready!" He looked around the room as if to indicate that I should do something about the mess, but I just walked out past him. I made my way for the counter where my phone and keys sat. I threw them into my bag and made eye contact with the bottle of Tequila. Without making eye contact with Todoroki, I picked up the bottle and put it back into the cupboard with the other bottles.

"You live here, alone right?" His eyes remained on the cupboard that held all my alcohol.

"Yup!" I grimaced at him with fake positivity. Begging him to ask the question that was clearly on his mind.

"So…That's all yours?" He pointed to the cupboard now. I nodded to him. This was a test of our relationship. What would he say? Does he think less of me? Do I care? Fuck, I did care.

Todoroki surprised me and didn't say anything more about it. He just nodded and started to head for the door, and I followed behind him. We quickly walked out and I locked the door. Cho once again sat outside his apartment staring at us. He had that same devilish smirk on his face as last night. This time though, I wasn't having it.

"Wow Cho. Surprised to see you awake before 5PM. What's the special occasion?" Todoroki looked back and forth between us. Clearly wondering the relationship, but not saying anything.

"Well some little brat last night got super drunk and had the music up way too loud. I still haven't been able to sleep." His devilish grin remained, but his eye glared into a challenge, and I was up for it.

"Well maybe if nosy neighbors minded their own business, I wouldn't have to have my music up so loud to have some fucking privacy. Hm Cho?" My hand fell to my hip and my eyes glared back at him.

"You're such a mess. How could I not stare? It's like watching a slow car crash." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Ugh whatever, ass." I was done with it, and grabbed Todoroki's hand and pulled him down the stairs away from Cho.

"You two kiddos have fun!" He called from his seat in front of his door. His voice was laced with insincerity.

When we finally arrived at the train station, Todoroki couldn't contain himself any longer, "So, who was that? He was there last night too, so I'm assuming he lives there." I noticed that it as still holding on to his hand and quickly let go with embarrassment.

"Yes. That's my neighbor Cho. He's a little older than us. He's normally not so bad, but these last couple days he's been throwing a lot of bullshit my way. He needs to know he can't get to me." I crossed my arms and nodded agreeing with myself.

"But, by engaging, aren't you saying the opposite? That he is getting to you?" I glared over to Todoroki with a snap of my head. He put his hands in front of himself and smiled at me with a smirk.

'_Fuck, now this guy too.' _

I "hmphed" at Todoroki and looked away from him. Arms still crossed in annoyance with all of the men in my life. Todoroki just chuckled and nothing more was said until we entered the train. I pulled up the place we were meeting Ochako and Deku on my phone and read over the reviews. It has good reviews and many pictures of the sweet pastry's they provided. I felt my stomach growl. I started flipping through all of the photos of different sweets trying to put my order together before I got there. I felt Todoroki lean in and look at my phone as I flicked through the pictures.

"Do you like sweets Marina?" I nodded at him with a small smile on my face. "Perfect. So, my question for today's train trip, what's your favorite sweet?" I chuckled under my breath. I wasn't sure if today counted for our new tradition, but Todoroki clearly thought it did.

"Hm, that's a hard one. Let me think a minute." I held my finger to my lips and looked off into space trying to decide which dessert was my dessert. Todoroki just started at me the whole time. No rush for me to answer, but to let me know that I had his attention when I was ready. I finally made a choice. "I'm going to go with huckleberry cheesecake ice cream." I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded. Happy with my choice.

"Huckleberry?" Todoroki looked at me confused.

"There a berry back from my home. They grow in our woods all around so you can go out and pick them in the wild. They can be sweet, but I like them more on the tart side. They're going to be in season soon. I'll see if I can get some sent to me and I can make us something with them." I smiled up at him while my mind ran through different baked goods I could make with huckleberries. With the summer coming, I was going to start craving some real soon.

"Hey Marina, I know you're from America, but you never really told me where from in America."

"Oh! Well I'm from Seattle Washington. Have you heard of it before?"

"Actually, I have. I've been to America with my father a few times for his hero work. We landed in Seattle once." His face didn't look cheerful talking about his father's work, so I decided to shelve that part of the conversation for later.

"Oh yeah? What did you think?" I beamed up at him. Seattle was my turf, so he better say nice things.

He didn't say anything for a couple seconds. Then stared off into space before finally speaking, "It was cold and wet."

I started laughing. "Yes! That's a perfect way to describe it. Cold and Wet. That's why I love the rain so much. It reminds me of my home. My father lived outside of Seattle and due to my mother's work, I lived with him most of the time. It was such a nice place. Surrounded by forest and quiet. I miss his house so much. I actually still own it, but I still haven't been able to return since his death." At this point I stared out the window not really making eye contact with Todoroki. I could tell his gaze was on me though, like it always was when we were together. "A lot of people asked why I didn't live there after everything with my mom, but I knew she'd find me there. It would be the first place she looked. Plus, emotionally, to live alone in that house, I just can't. Not yet." Tears started to rise to my eyes, but I pushed them away. I had shed many tears for my late father. Today was supposed to be a good day so I pushed the thoughts deeper and deeper.

Todoroki didn't say anything more about Seattle. I switched back to the original conversation, "So Todoroki, what is your favorite sweet?" I put a smile back on my face.

"I'm normally not a sweets person. We don't get a lot in our house. My father doesn't think they're good for you. I've snuck a couple things here and there. I like fruit though. It's sweet enough." Todoroki glared out the window.

This was the second time that Todoroki had mentioned his father and both times he had a face of contempt. Clearly, he was a touchy subject for him. I could relate to that. I was working up the courage to ask about it, but the train came to a stop too soon. It was time to get off. We collected our things and hurried off.

Todoroki and I decided that we should head to the coffee shop and get a place to sit, rather than waiting for Ochako and Deku at the train station. Todoroki and I walked in silence. This was my first time being in this part of town. I took in every shop, every face of a stranger that passed me, and all the colors the city provided. It was busy with the Saturday afternoon rush. Smells of bakeries and restaurants filled my nose. It was peaceful. In a city full of villains, it was nice to know that these kinds of days still existed.

Todoroki and I arrived at the coffee shop. The coffee shop was on the smaller side and had a nice homey vibe. There were multiple 4 person tables, but they also had a little living room set. A couch that sat two and two armchairs that surrounded a coffee table. The living room faced the big opened windows out to the street. The living room seats were open, so I went and plopped down on the couch. Todoroki followed me over and sat on the couch next to me. They had menus on the coffee table to I started looking it over as we waited for our friends.

We didn't wait long before we heard the jingle of the bells due to the door opening. I looked over to the door and sure enough it was our friends.

"Ochako! Deku! Over here." I called from my seat, frantically waving over at them. They both smiled and headed over to us.

"Hey guys! Have you ordered yet?" I shook my head and handed Ochako the menu that was on the table.

"I looked over the menu on the way here, so I'm set whenever you guys are." I let them know.

It only took us about five minutes to put together an order. The three teenagers from Japan all opted into different kinds of tea, but I needed coffee with an extra shot of espresso. I also ordered various sweet pastries and fruit for our group to munch on while we talked. Ochako thought I went a little overboard, but I insured here that this was a special occasion and I would take home any leftovers so there was no money wasted.

The four of us made small talk as we waited for our orders. We decided to avoid talking about yesterday. Deku still had bandages that showed he was still recovering from the events. I personally didn't want to think about it, so I didn't.

We finally received our drinks and food spread from one of the waitresses and we settled into the comfy couch and chairs. Deku finally brought up why we had ordinally gathered. He pulled out his notebook and got to asking questions about my quirk.

"So Marina, what do you call your quirk again." Deku's eyes shinned as he held his pen in hand ready to write down anything, I would give him today. These were my friends, so I had no reason to hide anything.

"My quirk is call, Holy Knight." Deku nodded and scribbled down in his notebook. I decided to continue, "My wings are the most obvious part of my quirk. I developed them when I was almost 5 and I've had them ever sense. For a long time, I couldn't put them away and bring them back without immense pain. If you look closely when they're away, you can see little splits in my back where they come from. I still don't completely understand it, but I think that's true for a lot of people and their quirks." I set my coffee down and turned my back to Deku. I pulled down my dress slightly so he could see the splits on my back. I could tell he wanted to touch them, but I turned away before he could. "My powers though, I have the ability to call on Holy Light and Holy Weapons. As far as the weapons go, I prefer my bow, sword, lance, and shield, but I can pretty much summon anything that'd fall into a 'weapon' category. My imagination is the only thing that can really hold me back." I looked around to see all my friends faces on me. Listening to every word that came out of my mouth with complete amazement.

"That's so cool Marina! What a strong defensive quirk." Ochako said excitedly.

"Yeah, I like it." I laughed a little. "I still haven't gotten the chance to show you guy's what my weapons can really do. During the entrance exams I destroyed multiple enemies in one swing with my light arrows. All my weapons have some form of light buff. My sword can extend its reach with light. My shield offers an extra layer of protection with a light barrier, but it requires my focus and it's still something I'm trying to master."

"Oh, so it's your Holy Light, but in an attack rather that defensive?" Deku asked.

"Yes, instead of healing like my Holy Light normally does, it burns, or slashes. I can touch the light that surrounds my weapons, but no other person can."

"So, I get the gist of the offensive abilities of Holy Light, but what about the defensive side of things?" Deku had his pen ready.

"Well you all have experienced my Holy Light. It heals and protects, but it's not unstoppable. Also, my healing on others is no where as great as my healing to myself. Ochako, you didn't get to see me use my ultimate healing move, a Knight's Prayer, but Todoroki and Deku did. What did you two notice about it?" I wanted to see if they picked up on the side effect of my ultimate move.

Todoroki was quick to answer, "You healed almost instantly while being surround by light. It was almost impossible to look at you while you healed due to how intense the light was." Deku nodded in agreement. "And then, once you healed." He trailed off, not sure how to put it.

Deku said it for him, "You became someone else. You talked different and you were fearless. You charged the villains without a second thought. You were stronger and faster. You overcame them easily." Todoroki nodded with him this time. Ochako looked back and forth between us, eyes still sparkling.

"Yes. I became a true Holy Knight. I was still there, but I had no control over my body. My second personality did." Ochako and Deku gasped. Todoroki's gaze at me was unbreakable and intense. "She doesn't stay long, and she only comes after I use a Knight's Prayer. It's almost like I summon her as a last-ditch effort. She's gotten me out of a lot of stick situations." I laughed and rubbed the back of my head nervously. "Growing up my mother would make me summon her a lot. She thought that if I summoned her that I would eventually learn how to control her. That I would be in the drivers seat, but I never got the hang of it. The greater my fear, the more I lose myself to her. She normally doesn't stay for long, but" I looked down at my coffee cup. The words didn't want to come out, but I needed my friends to understand why this wasn't a move that can be relied on. I finally continued, "once I lost control for a week. My mother and I had a huge fight and I told her I didn't want to be alive anymore. It was right after losing my father, and sadly I got my wish." Tears were in my eyes, but I continued. "For a whole week someone else had control of my body. I couldn't stop her, and as the days went on, I started to lose myself and eventually just didn't care anymore. My friend Nova was the only reason I was pulled back. She came to my house when she hadn't heard from me. Her quirk allows her to feel other's emotions by touch. She was able to find the real me just by touching my body." I pulled out my phone and flicked through my pictures until I found a picture of Nova and I. I showed my friends the picture of the two of us together.

"Wow, that's terrifying Marina. I can't believe you still find the courage to use that power at all." Ochako reached over to me and grabbed my hand.

"Well it took a long time to find that courage. I also went through some really dark days after that. I told Todoroki about it a little bit, but long story short, I was the opposite of my Holy Knight persona. I went a little wild. Nova once again had to pull me back from that rampage, but I've never slipped again. I made a promise to her that I wouldn't go down that path ever again, and I won't." I smiled to all of my friends.

"Nova sounds like an amazing friend. Also, her quirk sounds amazing! Is she a hero in America?" Deku asked so innocently.

I busted out laughing and even Todoroki smirked, apparently Nova had left an impression on him in the short time, "Oh god no. America isn't the same as Japan. Everyone can use their quirks. As long as you don't commit crimes, you're good to go. This makes it so many people don't feel the need to become heroes to use their powers. Plus, Nova is not the type to follow most rules. She's a little wild, but so am I." I smirked at them. "It's hard to explain, but the culture in America is just way more intense than over here. You all are so nice and caring. People over there are too, but they just like to party. Drinking and drugs are totally normal."

"WHAT!?" Ochako and Deku screamed at the same time. I started laughing again. They were so pure.

"So… that was something you did Marina? Partied with drugs and alcohol?" Deku asked me quietly. His eyes wide and in disbelief.

"Sadly it was. I left the drugs behind when I came here, but I will always enjoy a couple shots of tequila." Deku looked like he might pass out, but Ochako had a small smile on her face. I felt my bad influence side creep in. "Say Ochako, we could have a girl's night sometime and get a little crazy." A devilish smirk found its way to my face and I nudged her with my elbow. A giant blush found its way to get face as Deku looked back and forth between her and I.

"I don't know about that..." Ochako let out with a nervous laugh.

"I'd like to try drinking." Todoroki spoke up surprising everyone.

My attention instantly snapped to him and my devilish smirk came back. "ho ho ho Todoroki. Are you a secret bad boy? Want to rebel a little bit." I threw my arm around his shoulders and nuzzled his shoulder closest to me.

"I wouldn't say that. I just like new experiences and if your friends back in America do this with you, I'd like to do it with you too." He said it so proudly. Like it was obvious that he'd come to this conclusion.

I pulled away from him and looked him over head to toe. This side of Todoroki took me by surprise. I could feel my heart thump in my chest. Deku was in shook and just stared at Todoroki, completely ignoring me. Ochako, however, saw something in the way I was looking at Todoroki.

Ochako couldn't help herself, "Hey Deku, Todoroki, could you guys go get us a refill on our drinks? Looks like were out." Everyone looked over to her. The boys nodded and stood up to leave. After they got into the line to order she turned to me. Her smirk was intrusive. "Marina." My heart thumped and she leaned in closer to me. "What's going on with Todoroki and you?"

"What do you mean? We're just friends!" I assured her.

"That's obvious. You two are always together at school, but that look on your face just now. That was something special." Her smirk turned to a smile and a light blush was on her face.

"Look Ochako, I find him refreshing and attractive, yes." Ochako got a huge grin on her face, "BUT, I didn't come to Japan for romance. Also, I'm not someone Todoroki would want. I'm tainted." I looked down at my empty cup in my hands. I wasn't ashamed of my past, but I wouldn't blame a pure boy for thinking I'm trashy, once he knew my whole story.

Ochako looked at me confused, "What does that even mean?" Her little heart couldn't possibly understand what I was trying to say.

"Ochako, listen carefully and think. I am not innocent." I put my fingers up and at the word innocent. She still wasn't getting it. "In romance, I'm experienced." My eyes bore into hers. Waiting for her brain to click.

She stared blankly at me. I stared back. Then it finally hit her. Her face turned the brightest shade of red and she screamed, "WHAT!?" My hand flew to her mouth, but it was too late. Everyone in the shop was looking at us. Todoroki and Deku came running back to us with our drinks.

"Ochako what's wrong?" Her face was still bright red and her eyes bore into mine.

She wouldn't speak so I did, "Oh we were just having some embarrassing girl talk." I grabbed my coffee from Todoroki. He looked at me suspiciously. I smiled at him innocently, "Right, Ochako?" I kicked her leg to wake her up.

"YUP! TOTALLY!" She laughed robotically.

Todoroki wouldn't let it go however, "What was so embarrassing?" He looked back and forth between us.

"How about I tell you some other time. Maybe when you finally come and get drunk with me." I said refusing to make eye contact with him.

He glared into the side of my face, but quickly realized he wasn't getting anything more from me. The boys finally sat down and the conversation was dropped. We stayed at the coffee shop for a couple of hours. Everyone sharing about their quirks. I learned a lot about my new friends. Todoroki shared that he actually could summon fire from his left side, but that he'd never use it. When I questioned him on it, he refused to give me a reason. Just that he wouldn't. A part of me believed that he must not like fire, but a bigger part knew it was bigger than that. It always was with quirks.

After that it was time for us to all head home. Everyone said their goodbyes and we all agreed to hang out again. Hopefully Iida could join us next time we agreed. When we got to the train station, we all separated ways. Todoroki and I obviously going the same way. Our train came quickly, and we boarded quietly.

While we sat and waited for our stop, I flipped through my Facebook. Looking at posts and sharing them with Todoroki. I showed him some of my friends posts and told him about all of them. He nodded and would ask questions here and there. I asked him if he had a Facebook and he told me he didn't use social media. I wasn't surprised at all. I explained to him the basic of profiles and statuses. He kept nodding along.

"Marina, can I see your profile and pictures?" He asked me with big pleading eyes. It was adorable so I handed him over my phone. I looked away embarrassingly as he flipped through the pictures. I knew what he would find, but like I said, I wasn't someone to hide my past. I overshared and reveled in it.

Todoroki's fingers stopped swiping and a weird look came over his face. I knew what profile picture he had come to and I was ready for the on coming questions. His miss matched eyes found mine and I held my breath. "Who's this?" He flipped the phone around to show me the picture I knew he would find.

It was a picture of me and a boy. The boy was handsome. Brown hair, green eyes, and dazzling smile. He smiled into the camera with a wink as I kissed his cheek. I remembered the night perfectly. We were at a rave back in America. The picture glowed with neon lights that surrounded us. I had silver glitter all over my face and some was on the boy's face from a make out session earlier in the evening.

I sighed heavily, "That would be my ex-boyfriend Connor." I waited for him to ask another question, but he didn't. He started flipping through the photos again.

Our stop finally came, and he handed me back my phone. When we exited the train, I half expected him to follow me home again, but he didn't. He waved and said a small goodbye and turned away from me. He quickly left the station as I stared at his back. I couldn't help the anxiety that coursed through my body. Todoroki was clearly uncomfortable about something, and Connor was the only thing that made sense.

I turned on my heal and sprinted home. I was angry and annoyed. Everyone had a past. It wasn't like I did something wrong. I knew that romantically Todoroki probably wouldn't be interested in someone like me, but even as a friend he seemed bothered. This was the first bit of weirdness in our young friendship and I didn't know how to proceed.

I quickly made it home and ran up the stairs to my apartment. When I got to the top of the stairs, I had to catch my breath. Running and emotion were not a good mix. Right before I headed into my apartment I looked over to Cho's door. I had no idea if he was home, but I decided to risk it. I walked up to his door and knocked.

I waited for only a couple minutes before the door flew open. Cho was taller than me, so he was glaring over my head, but looked down at me surprised to see that it was me. "Marina? What's up?" Cho leaned against his door frame with crossed arms. He seemed a little on edge, but it probably had to do with the light tears running down my face.

"Cho, I don't understand the boy's in this country." It was a statement. He didn't know how to respond.

Cho sighed heavily and put his hand on top of my head, "Hang in there kid. I can't say I'm like most guys in this country, but I know you a bit, and I think you're worth having around." He removed his hand from my head. "But not right now. I have some 'company' over so get out of here before you kill the mood." Cho slammed the door in my face.

I laughed lightly and whipped the tears away from my face. I made the small trek back to my apartment smile now on my face. Todoroki was still so young and innocent. He needed time to adjust to someone like me. I was not like the rest of kids in my class. I wanted to be a hero, but I knew that I wasn't perfect. I couldn't do anything about the person I once was, but I could do my best to be better. That's why I came here. I wanted to be someone that could fill people's hearts with peace, the good and not so good people alike. A hero doesn't judge, and so I wouldn't either.

I entered my apartment and closed the door behind me. My back slid down the apartment door and I sat on the floor staring at my phone. I worked up the nerves to send Todoroki a text messaged, because I really couldn't handle the weirdness between us

**Marina: **Did you have fun today?

I held my breath waiting for a reply. I didn't have to wait long.

**Todoroki: **I did

A huge smile was now on my face.

**Marina: **You and I should hangout again soon, right? Outside of school I mean.

My heart thumped in my chest.

**Todoroki: **I'd like that very much. 😊

Tears poured from my eyes. I was so happy.

_**END**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 7: Times Up **_

**(AN: Smut warning) **

It was Monday and it was finally time to return to school after the villains' incident. I had given myself plenty of time to get ready this morning due to the whole not sleeping thing. I was still plagued by nightmares. Apparently Shigaraki Tomura's quirk had really done a number on me. It was a terrifying quirk. Being able to dissolve something or someone just by touching them. No wonder he'd turned into a villain. I couldn't even imagine what childhood had been like for him to discover such a quirk.

These were the thoughts that plagued my mind. I couldn't get this guy out of my head. This also brought up things that I really didn't like to think of, like, if becoming a villain was really his choice or something he was forced into by societies standards. Would there be anyone who would feel comfortable around someone like that. Sadly, this was a recurring thing in quirk society. I was born with a beautiful quirk that many praised, but so many children were not so lucky.

I tried to shake these thoughts from my head by turning on the tv to the news, and of course they were still talking about the villains' attack. It had been on repeat all weekend long. There was even talks of the students who were involved. I found myself searching each shot to see if I was ever noticeable, and luckily, I had dodged the cameras. I knew that my time of secrecy was running out, but I was going to do everything in my power to push it out further and further.

It was finally time to leave so I turned off the tv and collected my things. As I made my way to the train station, I pulled out my phone and responded to messages from friends. Nova had made it more of an effort to reach out to me daily to check in. These events had also rattled her. She knew that I wanted to be a hero, but I don't think she ever really thought about what that meant. We lived in a bubble in our hometown. You never heard about villains attacking schools and soon to be heroes. Sure, things happened, but not to people you knew and loved. She pushed me to tell all our friends where I had run off to and what I had been doing, but I knew that things would start to get out. I explained that my time was running out for people not to know and as soon as my mother knew, I'd tell everyone.

Todoroki had beat me to the station today, so I ran up to him waving, "Good morning Todoroki!" He smiled and said good morning back to me.

I was so relieved. Whatever weirdness that was between us had resolved itself. His text messages from Saturday had made me believe it already, but I needed the in-person confirmation. We made small chit chat about the weekend. We had both trained on Sunday and were ready for school to start again. We both preferred going to school rather than being at home. This surprised me from him though. I hated being at home because I lived alone. I wonder why he hated it so much. This is what prompted today's train question.

"Do you have any siblings Todoroki?" I knew that his father was a sensitive topic, so I crossed my fingers that his siblings were a safe conversation, if he even had any.

"Yes, I do. I have three. One older sister and two older brothers." He responded in his factual way. His voice gave no indication that this was a dangerous conversation, so I continued.

"Wow, that's awesome! I've always wondered what it would be like to have siblings, but I was never so lucky. My parents didn't stay together after I was born, so there wasn't any real hope unless either dated, and they never did. Both my parents were so involved in their work that a girlfriend or boyfriend would be impossible." I guess love wasn't where their happiness was. "So, with so many siblings, you must have a favorite."

"Well I don't know my brothers that well. They haven't lived with us for years. My sister is still at home even though she's a teacher. She cooks my meals and visits with me from time to time. I would have to say she's my 'favorite' but it's not a fair competition." I wouldn't say Todoroki looked sad as he said this, but I still felt my heart clench. Nova has an older sister and they were so close. They didn't live together, but they still talked constantly. I had always imagined siblings in that light, so to have some that you never knew just blew my mind.

I wanted to hear more about Todoroki's sister, but our stop came too soon. We climbed off the train and made our way to the classroom silently. As we entered the school grounds, we saw students pointing and talking rather loudly about us. Not us personally, but Class 1A in general. Everyone was asking questions about what had happened and if it was still safe at school. I was never one for confrontation due to gossip, but it was starting to get annoying.

"Jesus. It's like there's nothing else going on in all their lives. I wish everyone would just drop the whole conversation." My eyes narrowed at a group of girls who were being extra loud.

"I think that they are just trying to cover up their fear. Not everyone here has a strong enough quirk to protect themselves. I can't imagine what that must feel like for them. So, if gossip and joking about it makes them feel better, I can live with it." Todoroki looked over at me to see if his words had impacted me and they did. I was being selfish and conceited.

"Fuck, you're right." The glare left my face and a pout replaced it. I hated feeling guilty.

Todoroki chuckled, but still comforted me, "You still need to deal with it too, so if you need to vent, I'm here to listen." I smiled up at him. He was truly a good dude once you got past the icy stares. I just wish more people got to see this side of him.

We go to the classroom and went down our separate isles to our seats. All the students were talking about the news and how it felt like we were celebrities. I heavily sighed and lightly smashed my face into the desk over and over again. Todoroki just smirked at my dramatic response.

"Marina! Are you okay?" Ochako looked over at me concerned.

I stopped my drama and gave her a thumbs up, "Oh I'm just fine. Feeling a little extra bitchy this morning, but I'll get over it." Now she was laughing at me to. My friends were starting to get used to my childish behavior, and I loved them for it.

The classroom started to fill up and everyone took their seats. Some of the students were questioning who our teacher for the day would be, but I had no doubt that Aizawa would be there. He did not seem like someone who would take a sick day. My suspicions were confirmed as he made his way to the classroom. He was covered in bandages so you couldn't see his face, yet he still looked grumpy as hell.

Iida was quick to greet our teacher, "Mr. Aizawa, I'm glad you're okay!"

"My well being is irrelevant." He coldly stated.

'_Yup. Grumpy as hell.' _

He continued, "What's more important is that your fight isn't over yet." The students started to panic. We couldn't take anymore villain nonsense right now. "The UA sports festival is about to start."

The students all screamed at the same time, "Ugh! Why would you scare us like that?"

This was worse for me than the villains. My heartbeat started to race. I knew that UA would have a big televised sport fest like they did every year. I also knew that this was when I could no longer hide where I was. I thought I had longer until then, but it would seem my time was about to run out. Todoroki must have known what was going through my head, because he looked over at me worriedly. I didn't make eye contact with him. I was scared the terror would overtake me and I would start to cry.

Jirou raised her hand to ask a question calmly even though all the other students were being loud about the festival, "It is really such a good idea to hold a sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Some students nodded and agreed with her.

Aizawa quickly responded, "Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good wat to show that the threat had been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus, they're beefing up security compared to past years. This even is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains."

Mineta was shaking with terror and voiced his complaints but Deku quickly retorted, "Huh? Mineta, don't you know how important this competition is?"

"Of course, I do! I just don't wanna get murdered."

Aizawa interrupted the side conversation, "Our sports festival is the most watched event in the entire world. In the past, everyone was obsessed over the Olympic games, but then quirks stated appearing. Now, the Olympics have been drastically reduced in terms of scale and viewership. For anyone who cares about competition, there's only one tournament that matters. The UA Sports Festival."

Yaoyorozu spoke up, "That's right. Top heroes everywhere will be watching. This is where you get scouted." She has a determined look on her face.

My heart started to thump in chest loudly. That's right. All top heroes all over the world will be watching. She will be watching me. She will find out where I am, and she will try to come and ruin it, so I must run back to her and her agency. I had known this day was coming since I'd decided on UA. Even though I was scared I knew what I had to do. I had to place number one in the sports festival so that UA would fight to keep me enrolled no matter what she tried to pull. Sadly, gaining my legal independence from her was not enough for her to stay out of my life. I knew her tenacity and what she would do to get what she wanted. My hands formed fists on my desks. My long nails digging into my skin, just enough to make them bleed slightly.

The other students kept rambling on about exposure and it's importance when Aizawa finally spoke again, "It's true that joining a famous hero agency can garner you greater experience and popularity. That's why the festival matters. If you wanna go pro one day, then this event could open a path for you. One chance a year, three chances in a lifetime. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival. That means you better not slack off on your training."

"Yes sir!" All the students spoke up.

After that the rest of classes seemed to fly by until it was time for lunch. Normally everyone was quick to run off for lunch, but most of the students hung back today to share their excitement for the sports festival. I had made my resolution to fuck shit up in the sports festival, but this didn't stop the waves of anxiety that coursed through my body. I didn't feel like being chipper Marina right now. I wanted to be alone and start to process what was about to happen in my life.

Ochako caught my attention for a second when she started screaming right next to me, "Everyone! I'm going to do my best." The students cheered and I was happy to see her have such determination, but like I said. I wanted to be alone.

I pushed all my shit into my bag and put it on top of my desk. Yaoyorozu had stolen Todoroki's attention away talking about the Sports Festival so I quickly raised from my seat while everyone was distracted and practically sprinted for the door. If this wasn't UA I would have just skipped for the rest of the day, but teachers here were not so forgiving. As I left the classroom I didn't really know where I wanted to go. There were students everywhere. This place was starting to feel more and more like a sardine can. I quickly found my way to the stairs and just kept climbing. Eventually I made it to the top floor and the exit to the roof.

The door to the roof was locked, but with a little assistance from my quirk I broke the lock and went onto the roof. This could potentially get me in trouble, but I didn't really care at the moment. I just needed some alone time so I could go back to the world with a smile.

As I walked out onto the roof, I finally let all the emotion I had been holding back out. I sobbed into my hands. I was so angry that this woman still had so much control over my emotions. I was so angry that she had wounded me so deeply that I wasn't allowed to ever truly be happy. I always looked over my shoulder waiting for her to come and swoop me away and lock me in her house all over again. This had happened repeatedly after my father died.

She would make me train for days and days. She would use her quirk against me to kick the shit out of me. Make me heal myself and do it all over again. I would have bruises that I refused to heal just begging for someone to help me. Get me out of the situation I was in. Anytime anyone would come to the house with concerns she would explain it all away with training my quirk. She was a Pro Hero after all. She would never hurt her daughter without purpose. She was training me to be great, which was a totally legal reason to beat your child. She eventually even paid off my school to say that I was showing up and getting good grades, just to keep me caged like and animal. I was a bird stuck in a cage. If Nova hadn't shown up when she did, I would still be locked away probably.

My quirk was strong, but I was never able to beat my mother. She had a very similar quirk to mine. Her hero name was America's Heavenly Hero Archangel. The biggest difference in our quirks was that she didn't have the ability to heal and no holy light. I had gained that from my father. When my mother met him, it was like a bell went off in her head. She wanted to create the ultimate being. She was faster and stronger than me, but she had always said it was because I was holding myself back.

When I was a child, I pushed myself to make her proud, but as time went on, I started resenting my power. If I had truly mastered my strength it would make her happy. Her happiness was not something I could live with. I stopped trying, which just made the beatings worse. Even now, I was still playing catch up with my powers. I could have been unstoppable if I had stuck to her training, but it was never worth it to me.

I found myself leaning onto the giant cement walls of the roof. I couldn't look over them due to how tall they were, but it was nice anyways. It gave me the feeling of seclusion that I was searching for. There was no noise this high up in the sky from the students below. I had left my phone in my bag down in the classroom, so I just closed my eyes and embraced the silence.

I stayed up on the roof until just before lunch had ended. I collected myself and started the trek back to class. I knew that this day was going to come and now that I had finally let myself feel what that means to me, it was time to get it together. Just before opening the door to the classroom, I hesitated. I took a deep breath in and let it out. I put a small smile on my face and pushed open the door. Most of the students were already in their seats, but a few were talking here and there with each other. I noticed that Todoroki and Ochako were both occupied so I wouldn't have to explain my absence, but then something else caught my attention. Sitting on my desk was a red apple. There was no note or anything, just the piece of fruit. I took my seat and looked to my left to see Todoroki looking over at me with just the side of his eyes. He wanted to give me space, but he also wanted to make sure I was okay.

I smiled over at him and took the apple into my hand. I took a rather large chomp out of it and started eating it quickly to try and finish it before class. Todoroki appeared satisfied because he looked down at his book and started reading again. I didn't mean to worry my friend, but he seemed understanding.

Ochako wrapped up his conversation with Deku and made her way back to the room, "Marina! There you are. Where did you go for lunch? It was lonely at the table without you." She smiled down at me.

"Oh whatever! I'm surprised you even noticed." I jokingly teased her. "I just needed to clear my head for a second. Little nervous for the sports festival." It wasn't a complete lie.

"Don't worry Marina! You're strong. You can handle anything that get's thrown at you." Ochako gave me a thumbs up with a determined grin. She didn't know how much her words meant to me.

"Your right Ochako! Let's kick some ass!" I gave her a thumbs up back.

The rest of the school day was a blur. It was hard to focus on basic school classes when we had to start getting ready for the sports festival. This also brought up some issues, I didn't really have anywhere special to train. The Hero classes had been helping, but I needed to fight one-on-one with someone to really get myself ready. I decided that I was going to bug Todoroki for some ideas. He'd lived here a lot longer than me. Maybe there was a gym or a club, who knows. Maybe he would even want to train together.

As class started to wrap up, we collected our things and headed to the door. I waved goodbye to Ochako and Deku before Todoroki and I left the classroom. Todoroki and I walked to the train in silence, but I could feel his gaze lingering on me longer than normal.

"Just ask me what's on your mind Todoroki." I couldn't take the silent stare any longer.

"What happened to you at lunch today?" I stopped walking and stared up at the sky. Todoroki stopped right next to me and waited for me to answer.

I sighed heavily and finally looked at him, "I just got overwhelmed. With the sports festival coming up I'm not going to be able to stay hidden much longer from my mom. I knew it was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier on my heart." I shrugged my shoulders and started walking again.

Todoroki kept up with me easily and finally asked the question, "What happened between your mom and you?"

I felt hot anger run through my body. Throughout my life I had tried to tell people about my mother, but no one ever believed. People always asked how I could hate her. There was no way a hero could treat her child poorly. I just misunderstood her and was being a dramatic teen.

I quickly checked my anger though because I knew this wasn't what Todoroki meant. He didn't even know who my mom was. He just wanted to know what was going on in my head. He wanted to help me anyway he could.

"Todoroki, do you have any plans right now? Do you want to come to my house, and I can tell you all about it? Feels weird to talk about this stuff out in the open." He nodded confirming that he would come over.

The rest of the trip was silent. On the train ride I took the window seat and stared at the passing city that had now become my home. I was growing fond of Japan and I wasn't ready to leave. I would fight my mother when she finally made her entrance. She would eventually and I had to get myself prepared for it. In the past she would threaten my friends and their family for shielding me, but that wouldn't work here. These were heroes in training. They were stronger and braver. Don't get me wrong, Nova would go rounds with my mother if I let her, but I wouldn't ever put her in that situation.

We got to my house quickly. I led us up the stairs to my apartment and quickly unlocked the door. I didn't need to deal with a nosy Cho today, so I hurried us in. When we got inside, Todoroki removed his shoes and neatly put them on the rack. I was still getting used to the whole, no shoes inside thing. I unzipped my boot and untied my tie and threw them near the rack and hurried to my bedroom to grab something. Todoroki chuckled under his breath at me and went and sat on the couch.

I found the box I was looking for inside my room. It was nothing fancy, just a medium sized black box that I kept old mementos. I took it over to the coffee table and set it down. I sat down next to Todoroki and pulled the lid off the box. Inside was various letters and photos from friends and family from the past. I pulled out a photo and handed it to Todoroki. The photo was one of very few that had my parents and me in it. It was from my 6th birthday. I couldn't remember the day clearly anymore, but just by looking at the photo you could tell how happy I was. My parents hugged me from both sides while I sat right behind my birthday cake ready to make a wish.

"This was the last birthday party that I had with my parents together. They weren't dating even then, but they would put their problems aside so we could at least be in the same room." I sadly said to Todoroki as he examined the picture. "Like I had told you before, my parents never officially got married. They didn't even date long after I was born. My mother was a fulltime pro hero and my father owned his own charity. My mother never slowed down with her hero work after I was born, so I spend most days with my father. Both had plenty of money and didn't need the others support. My earlier years things were normal with my parents. Mom wasn't around, but she'd call. And when she was around, she was loving and doting. If you would have asked me at 12, I would have told you my mother was my hero. She looked just like me and had a quirk so similar to mine, how could I not adore her and want to me just like her. She loved this fact. She took me to events saying that one day I would take her place in the hero's world. I was so excited. We'd train, but she'd never really hurt me. She always knew how to balance everything out."

I looked through the box and found a photo of my father and I from my 13th birthday. I took the original photo from Todoroki and handed him this photo instead. "After I turned 12 my parents started to leave me home alone more. They saw that I was responsible, and they trusted I could handle myself if anything came up. This meant my dad could start getting back to his charity work. His work took him all over the world. My father also had the quirk 'Holy Light'. He could heal a great number of people quickly. His charity work normally took him to countries with war going on and he would heal the civilians of those countries. As you can imagine this was incredibly dangerous." I gestured to the photo in front of him. "This photo was taken during my 13th birthday party. My father would die three weeks later." I took the photo from Todoroki and put it back into the box.

Todoroki's eyes bore into mine, waiting for me to continue. "My father died in another country because he got too involved in a war that wasn't his. I'll never know all the details of what happened. I didn't even get a body to bury. All we received was a government notice that there was an attack on his camp and there were no survivors. He went there to heal and apparently someone wasn't happy about it." I pulled the letter from the box that I received from the government explaining what had happened with my father. It was vague and brief. It told me this letter would allow me to collect on any life insurance benefits with no questions asked. I handed Todoroki the letter and gave him a couple seconds to read it over.

"This was when everything changed in my life. I wasn't old enough to live by myself, and I didn't want to at this time. I loved my mom. This would mean that I would get to spend more time with her and get to know her better. Before this we would spend a couple hours a week training together, but that was it. I didn't even have a room set up at her house. I'd always just sleep in her guest room if I ever needed to, but the times I did stay could be counted on two hands."

"I was already going through so much. I had just lost my most important person in my life and now I had to move into this huge mansion like house that always seemed to be too empty. When I did see my mom, I would do anything to make her happy. The moments were so far apart, that I didn't want to waste even a second with negativity. This worked just fine for my mom. If I lived under her rules forever, I would have probably never gotten to know my mother truly, but I was a broken teenager. The act of being a perfect princess fell apart in months. I started talking back and picking fights. She made it so easy. I would just compare her to my father and all hell would break lose. She tried to contain her temper at first, but it too was an act."

"When my mother couldn't find a way to control me, she decided to treat me like all the villains she would fight. The first time she snapped and attacked me was when I called her a 'stupid bitch'. She punched me so hard in the face that I was pretty much knocked out. All I remember was hitting the floor and then her dragging me by my hair into the basement. She left me in there for 3 days. I don't want to get into the details of it please because it's completely humiliating."

"When she finally decided to release me, I think she expected to find some broken little girl." I made eye contact with a silent Todoroki and a devilish grin broke out across my face. "But that's not what happened at all. She had created a wild animal. I attacked her as soon as I saw her. Even at my best, I couldn't beat my mother, so the attack was short lived. I was exhausted and hungry. She smacked me away like a flea, but the shock on her face was reward enough. I spent another 2 days in the basement for the attack. She obviously had to give me water at this point, so I didn't die, but that was all I got. One gallon of water thrown at me with no words."

"This became pretty normal for us. I would get released for a few days. Get to start my life over again. We would train here and there, but then she'd push it too far and I would rebel, and back into the basement I went." Talking to Todoroki about this now I found myself chuckling about how ridiculous all this was. I waited a second before continuing to see if he had anything to say, but his face was unreadable. He looked everywhere, but at me. I almost wanted to grab his face and force him to, but I get it. Things like this were always hard to hear. So, I just continued, "I still have no idea why my mother had a prison like basement. No matter how much I tried to use my quirk to get out, I couldn't. The walls were too thick, and I was too weak to even make a dent."

"After months of this, I finally got fed up. I knew that what she was doing was wrong. I wasn't an idiot. This was when I would learn the true evil that is my mother." Todoroki finally looked over at me. Now that I could see his eyes, I saw the pure hatred in them. The anger that I felt reflected back to me. I couldn't help myself when I leaned into him. I put my head on his shoulder and sighed heavily. With my head on his shoulder I continued. "I told everyone. I told the school. I told parents of my friends. I even went to the police, and not one single person believed me. My mother would always make me heal myself of any damage she caused. If anyone ever was suspicious of my absences, she would just buy them off. I'm pretty sure my mother paid for a whole new wing of my school." This part of the story was always what caused me to cry. No matter the years that went by, the anger in my heart would not disappear. Even getting the words out was like talking with a sandpaper throat. "No matter who I begged, I couldn't get anyone to care." Tears fell down my face and my voice broke. Todoroki quickly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest into a hug.

"We don't have to keep talking about this." He assured me.

I continued anyways, "You know the rest. I had a mental break down and Nova came and got me. Her parents couldn't afford to fight my mother, but I could. They helped me find my fathers lawyer and get all his money. I bought my independence from my mother. When that didn't stop her from coming to collect me, I ran here. Japan is my last chance. I can't start all over again. I'm out of money. This is it. When she comes, all I can do is pray that UA won't make me go with her. I can't go back with her. I won't." No matter what I would have to do, she would not get control of me again. I buried my face into Todoroki's chest and just let the tears come. He ran his hand through my hair to try and comfort me.

He finally spoke up, "UA won't let her. You're their student. They'll protect you." I nodded to confirm that I heard him. "If they won't stop her, I will Marina." His words made my heart skip. I pulled back and looked right into his mismatched eyes. I was only inches away from his face. The rest of the world fell away and it was just the two of us. The tears stopped falling. His hands grabbed my face and whipped away the remaining tears from my cheeks. "I'll protect you Marina. Always."

His words made my whole body heat up with desire. I was suddenly completely aware of just how close we were. We were too close. I needed to pull away from him, but I couldn't bring myself too. It had been so long since I was held by someone. I was going to be selfish and stay in his arms until he ended it. I finally found myself saying, "You know you don't have to Todoroki. I'll still love you. You don't have to fight my fights. I don't want that for you." I took his hands from my face and held them in my own. I laced my fingers through his without even thinking about it.

Todoroki didn't hesitate, "It's what friends do Marina. Right?" I looked up at his face and saw him smiling down at me. I laughed and smiled back at him.

"That's right Todoroki!" I closed my eyes as my smile got bigger.

"Shoto." His voice was firm causing my eyes to fly open in surprise.

"What?"

"I want you to call me Shoto."

The feelings that filled my body couldn't be contained. I didn't know how Todoroki felt about me, or how he would feel about me once he knew everything about my past. I couldn't control any of that. Just like I couldn't control the feelings that were pouring out of me. My fingers pulled from his and found their way to his chest. The danced around as my thoughts spun. He didn't pull away from me. If anything, I felt him get closer to me. What happened next was completely out of my control. It was as if some animal took control of my body. I needed contact and I needed it now.

I crawled onto Todoroki's lap. Legs on either side of him, facing him. My face just inches away from his, "Shoto, Can I kiss you." My heart pounded in my chest waiting for his response.

Todoroki's eyes widen in shock. Words could not come out of his mouth. All he knew was that he desperately wanted to kiss me too. All he could do was just nod. I didn't need anything more. My fingers laced around his tie and I pulled into my lips.

His lips were soft but colder than I expected. Probably something to do with his quirk. At first Todoroki just let me kiss him. My hands left his tie and found their way to his face. My lips stayed on his for only a few glorious seconds, but I pulled away not wanting to overwhelm him. I could live with this for now. At least that's what I told my brain, but my body clearly wanted more. Luckily it would seem Todoroki had his own animal that he couldn't contain.

As soon as I pulled away from the kiss, Todoroki pulled me back in for another one. It was a way more aggressive kiss. His tongue found its way into my mouth. It was sloppy from lack of experience, but I helped him out. My tongue played with his until he got the hang of it. With his newfound confidence, he scooped up my legs and laid my back onto the couch. He was still in between my legs. My legs wrapped around him without a second thought. His hand stroked my cheek for just a second before he brought his mouth back down to mine. Our tongues played some more. He would have the upper hand before mine would take over.

On instinct alone his crotch pushed into mine as his tongue overtook mine once again. A large moan left my throat as I felt how hard he was against me. He pulled away from my mouth and looked down at me with a lustful gaze. It was then I realized that Todoroki wasn't as pure as I thought. He wanted me just as bad as I wanted him.

His gaze went too my breast. The top buttons of my school shirt were undone. Revealing the black lace bra I wore. It was the same one he saw me in that day I flew him over the school walls. Todoroki's hand went to the next button that hadn't been undone. He hesitated before looking into my eyes. When he got no rejection, his eyes snapped back down to the button his fingers played with. He quickly undid it and the rest of the buttons remaining. My chest now laid completely exposed to him.

This was clearly a first for Todoroki. His gaze kept jumping around not quite sure where to go next. One of his hands was planted right against my head for stability the other was slowly feeling around my stomach. I could tell he was starting to get shy and unconfident. His impulses had gotten him here and now his mind was fighting him. Before the moment was completely gone, I grabbed his free hand. His eyes snapped up to mine. I smiled up at him guiding his right hand to my breast. I pushed his fingers underneath the material letting his fingers graze over my nipple. I threw my head back and moaned loudly.

Todoroki's eyes sparked. A huge smirk found its way to his face and suddenly his fingers got cold as he activated his quirk and played with my nipple. My legs tightened around him as he teased me. His hand left my nipple and his face lowered slowly towards it. I closed my eyes in anticipation, then suddenly a loud alarm started blaring in my house.

Todoroki didn't move from his position. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. From my position I saw that he had a lot of notifications, but that's all I could see. "Fuck. I'm sorry Marina, I've got to go." Before he got up though he moved my bra back into place so that I was covered and leaned in for a deep kiss. No tongue, just pure love and passion. It took my breath away when he pulled away. Before he got all the way off me, he gave me a quick peck to my forehead, then finally stood up to collect himself.

He started to collect his things so he could leave. I didn't rise from the couch as he got his stuff together. I put a pillow on my lap, covering my body and looked him up and down heatedly. I enjoyed every second of it and regretted nothing, but I couldn't tell if he did. Obviously, he enjoyed himself, that evidence was still trying to die down, but if he regretted it, I'd just have to wait and see.

As I watched Todoroki breath in and out slowly trying to calm himself down, I couldn't find my voice. This wasn't what I expected when I invited him over today. I never expected this. Yeah, I wanted it, but Todoroki was a hard guy to read. As if he felt my eyes on him, he looked over at me and smiled. He was less freaked out than I was, and that was extra surprising.

"Hey Marina. I know we need to talk about this. I can tell you're freaking out right now." Todoroki came and sat by me on the couch with all his stuff sitting right in front of him for a quick exit. "Sadly, with the sports festival coming up, I'm going to be really busy over the next couple weeks. My dad's training schedule is insane." He took my hands in his. "We'll talk soon okay. Just be patient." He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss and stood up to leave.

"Oh! Shoto, that reminds me. If you get a chance for some extra training, let's train together yeah? I mean if you can still focus with me in the room." I smirked over at him trying to get back to my playful self. He had been smiling over at me since I called him by Shoto. He nodded at me and I gave him a thumbs up awkwardly. Things were going to weird for me for a second, I guess. He lightly chucked at my awkwardness and left my apartment.

After Shoto left I found myself unable to move from the couch. My heart pounded in my chest. I could not believe that Shoto had taken things that far with us. He was always quiet and sweet. I had no idea that underneath all that, he was just a normal teenage boy who had needs. I kept feeling my face heating up again and again. I decided that I needed to get out of the house and jog out this extra energy.

It was time to forget about love and focus on what came next. As I changed into my workout clothes, I kept repeating fight words inside my head. I was going to kick so much ass at the sports festival. I would even kick Shoto's ass, and maybe let him punish me for it later.

'_stop thinking about him like that!' _

These next two weeks were going to be a pain in the ass. That was for sure.

_**END**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 8: 1 vs 1 **_

The next day came so quickly. I hadn't emotionally prepaid myself for what that truly meant. Shoto had made it clear that he was going to be busy training for the sports festival over the next two weeks, and I had to give him that space. I needed that space as well. What happened last night was not something that I had planned, and honestly, I didn't have time for it. Whatever came next in our relationship would have to wait until the sports festival was over. I came to Japan to become a Pro Hero, and that came first. Love and romance would always be there. If Shoto and I were meant to happen, we will happen.

With that in mind I got ready for the school day and pulled myself together. I made sure to pack gym clothes n my bag so I could start training right after class. Today I was going to talk to my classmates and see if anyone wanted to spar together. I was confident in my quirk, but I need to work on my hand to hand. I was good, but I knew that there were people better and stronger than me in class. I would need to put extra work in these next two weeks to make sure my winning was the only outcome of the sports festival.

Right before I headed to the train, I received a text message from Shoto letting me know that he wouldn't be riding the train for the next two weeks due to training first thing in the morning.

'_Awesome.' _

I replied with a thumbs up emoji and put my phone away. I wasn't trying to be cold, but I needed to focus on me and I couldn't do the drama of teenage romance today. I headed for the train with my music turned all the way up in my ears. I wasn't upset at all, no really. Maybe I was trying to convince myself.

With the alone time on the train I made a commitment to reach out to my friends in America. While I was on the train, I made a Snapchat video in our group to get everyone caught up on the basics of my life. I'm alive, I'm happy, and over the next two weeks I will be kicking my own ass to get into incredible shape. I warned them that my next couple videos will be fitness montages.

Now that the main group of my friend had been reached out to, I messaged Nova to call me when she got a chance. I could really use some girl talk with her. Plus, I wanted to let her know about the sports festival. She was the only one I could talk to in America about all of this.

Before I even put my phone back into my pocket it started to vibrate. I looked down at the screen and sure enough, it was Nova already calling me. I quickly answered with my headphone back in my ears.

"Nova! Girl! How are you?" I was so excited to finally talk to her. Text messages weren't cutting it. Luckily the train had no people around me so I could be loud and not be embarrassed for once.

"I am good. Like always, obviously. I'm not the one fighting off villains in a far-off country." She teased me.

"Well you know how epic I am. Speaking of which, this is why I called."

"Oh god, what happened now?" I could feel her tense through the phone.

"Shut up! Nothing happened. Well something did happen, but that's not why I'm calling."

"Yeah you're going to tell me that part too. I need all the details. I need to live vicariously through you, remember? I'm bored as shit over here."

"Fine, but the important part first. The UA Sports festival is finally happening in two weeks."

"Are you ready for all of it? Mom, fighting, and fame? There's so much to be anxious about, but no pressure, right?"

"Yeah I think I'm ready. I talked to Shoto about it all and he really helped me through it. I don't think UA will fall for her crap like the other schools over the years. This is a school for heroes after all."

"Shoto? Who's Shoto? What happened to Todoroki?"

"Same person. He just gave me permission yesterday to start using his first name. I'm still trying to get used to it honestly." I laughed nervously into the phone.

"Oh, that's right. That's a thing in Japan. So weird." Nova grew quiet for a second and I tried to work up the courage to tell her about part two. I wasn't embarrassed about it, but I think I was just having a hard time admitting it to myself. Plus, Nova could be a little overprotective with me. I didn't get a chance to say anything, because she was quicker than me. "So, Marina, what happened between you two? I can tell you're hiding something from me."

I dramatically sighed long and hard into the phone before finally caving, "Okay, I'm going to tell you, BUT I don't want to talk about it again until after the sports festival. Shoto and I agreed that we needed to focus on this before us."

"So, you give him a little and then he ices you out? Hm, charming."

"Nova! It isn't like that. I instigated everything and we have a lot going on."

"Sure Marina. All I can say is, remember Connor? He always had a lot going on too and you always made a thousand excuses for him."

"Nova I don't want to fight about this. I promise he's not the same."

"Look I know you're smart Marina. I trust you and I love you." I smiled from her words, "But make sure he knows, that I'll eventually be over there to see you and I will kick his ass if need be."

"I know Nova. You'll always protect me, even when I don't want you to." I rolled my eyes with a smile at my friend's silliness.

"So…how far did you let it go."

"Second base."

"SCANDALOUS!"

"Shut up! I probably would have let it go further if we weren't interrupted. We were both so caught up in the moment. I don't even know how it happened honestly. I never expected that out of him at all."

"Oh yeah, totally shocking for a teenage both to want to feel up a beautiful girl. I don't care how shy and innocent they are, you give them the green light, they'll jump ya."

"You would know, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, shut up!"

Nova and I talked all the way from the train to class. I felt like every time we talked it was all about me, so I let her vent for the rest of the conversation. She told me how school was going for her. She told me about some new girl she was seeing and how she actually felt like she could be the one. Which was totally crazy to hear from Nova. She never believed in love. She would always say how we were too young to be chained to one person. I loved her free spirit and I really needed that in my life right now.

When I walked into the classroom I was still talking to Nova in my headphones. Some of the other students waved and greeted me and I pointed to my ears to let them know I was still on the phone. I did my best to not make eye contact with Shoto when I walked into the room, but I couldn't resist. I saw him looking down at books spread out across his desk. Even with the extra physical training, he was studious as ever. I don't think he noticed that I was in the room. Too lost in his own world. I threw my things onto my desk and sat down.

"Okay Nova, I just got into class. I got to go."

"Wait! Put me on FaceTime. I want to see what your life looks like now."

"Okay, only for a second though. Our teacher is scary, and I don't want to piss him off."

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and hit the FaceTime button. I first faced the camera so I could see Nova. When I finally saw her face, she was as beautiful as ever. Dark brown skin and natural curls. The bright blue hair with dark roots was new.

"Nova! Your hair. I love it so much."

"Ah thanks! But enough about me. Let me see your classmates."

"Okay! Ochako, come here for a second." Ochako was at the front of the room talking to Iida and Deku like she did every morning. She quickly bounced over to me and I motioned for her to squat down next to me. I made her look into the phones camera so she could be seen and see Nova. "Nova, this is Ochako. Ochako this is my best friend from home, Nova."

"Nova!" Ochako screamed causing everyone in the classroom to look back at us, which we just ignored. "I've heard so much about you. It's nice to meet you."

The girls gabbed back and forth for a couple seconds. Promises to keep an eye on me were made, which just caused me to roll my eyes at them.

"Okay, so I'll show you the rest of the class." I flipped the camera around so she could see everyone.

At this point the rest of the students had caught on to what was going on. This caused most of the boys to start showing off in front of the camera. Kaminari offered to take her on a date when she came into town. Kirishima flexed but said it was nice to meet her. Tokoyami just nodded and gave a solute. Deku waved enthusiastically. Aoyama winked into the camera. Mineral kept trying to get behind me to see what she looked like. Making comments about how someone as hot as me had to have hot friends. Luckily, I was taller than him and just stood up so he couldn't see. Bakugo stood at his desk in the front and just glared to the camera for a second before turning his back to us and saying "Extras" under his breath. Nova was laughing the whole time.

"Sorry Nova, it's time to go. I love you babe. Let's talk soon!" She kissed the phone screen and hung up the call.

I was so happy to get to share this part of my life with my best friend. It also made me realize that I had put so much into my friendship with Shoto that I forgot about all my other classmates. There were so many good people in this classroom and it was time that I start making an effort to get to know more of them. I started humming to myself and got myself ready for class.

What I didn't notice was Shoto's eyes staring at me. He was trying to get a read on me. Clearly, I was happy and having a good morning, but I hadn't given him the time of day. He hated to admit it, but he was a little upset about it. He knew that there was going to be space due to his training schedule over the next two weeks, but he didn't realize how much he'd miss my presence. He was also still reeling over what happened last night. He didn't realize that he would have that kind of reaction to me. He always knew that he enjoyed me and found me attractive, but to actually act on it like that. He was a little ashamed and he started to feel like he may have pushed me away by being so forceful. If only he'd ask and I could assure him, but we were still kids and he didn't have those skills. Not yet. And not with everything else going on.

I finally felt Shoto's eyes on me. I looked over at him and saw a look on his face that I never expected. He was confused. His eyes had questions for me, and I was shocked silent. When I finally found my voice, I smiled over at him. I leaned in so I could talk to him quietly, but then Aizawa walked into the room.

"Class, let's focus here please." He said as soon as he walked in.

Giving me no time to say anything. I snapped back into my desk and focused on my teacher. Our conversation would have to wait. Time was going to be the biggest issues for Shoto and I over the next 2 weeks. We already knew this, but to know it didn't make it feel any easier.

The first part of the day wrapped up quickly. It was time for lunch. After dipping out on my friends yesterday for lunch I made sure that I would eat with them today.

"Shoto, you going to join us today for lunch?" I asked him. He normally did, but I knew that he was trying to squeeze in as much training as possible. He nodded confirming that he would be joining us. I smiled up at him. At least we'd still have lunches together. Yeah, we weren't alone, but at least we were together.

Our group made our way to the lunchroom. We grabbed our food quickly and made our way to our normal spot. What surprised me was a that a couple extra people from our class trailed behind us. Kaminari, Kirishima, Ashido and even Bakugo sat down right next to use so we formed one big group.

"Hey guys! How cool that there was enough space for us all to sit together." I tried to break the ice.

"Yeah for sure! We never all get to sit together." Kirishima smiled over at me.

"Actually, this is perfect timing. I was going to try and bug some of you about sparing over the next couple days to get ready for the sports festival. I don't want to focus on quirks, but just hand to hand."

"That's a great idea! We could all hangout after school and use the gym with the teacher's permission. We could have our own little tournament." Ashido spoke up.

"Yeah that would be great!" Kirishima spoke up.

"If by great, you mean a fucking complete waste of time. I already know that I'm stronger than all of you." Ah, there's Bakugo. He snarled his comment while shoveling food into his mouth.

"Oh come on Bakugo. It would be so much fun to get a chance to kick your ass and not get in trouble for it." I smiled over at him. My words sickly sweet.

"The fuck did you say?"

"You heard me. I mean if you're just scared to lose, I'd totally get it."

"Oh, you're fucking on. Today. After school." He inhaled the rest of his food so he could storm away.

Just before he was out of earshot, I shouted over to him, "Remember no quirks Bakugo!" He grunted and fled.

The rest of lunch was pretty uneventful. Everyone at the lunch table agreed to meet in the school's gym after class. Even Shoto did with his 'busy' schedule. I made sure to have enough time to run to the teachers lounge and ask Aizawa about the gym before class. He said that we could use it, but no quirks were to be used without a teacher's presence. I nodded in understanding and he wrote me a note so we didn't run into any problems later.

Class finally ended and it was time to make our way to the gym. First, I just needed to go change out of my outfit into work out clothes I brought from home in the locker room. While I was getting my stuff ready to go, there was a ruckus at the front of the classroom. I heard Ochako gasp which caused my warning sensors to go off. I quickly made my way to the front of the room to see what was going on. With the news of the sports fest, the other classrooms decided it was time to come and check out the competition. So many bodies were blocking our classroom door that no one could get out.

Ochako greeted the mob timidly, "Um, why the heck are you all here?"

Iida was right behind her, "Do you have any business with our class?"

"Why are you blocking our door!" Mineta whined, then screamed, "I won't let you hold us hostage!"

"They're scouting out the competition, idiots." Bakugo's tone was hard, but he lazily walked up to the crowd of students. "Were the class that survived a real villain attack. They want to see us with their own eyes." He got right in the face of one of the students blocking the doors. "At least now you know what a future pro looks like. Now move it, extras." I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Causing Shoto and some of the other students to look at me weirdly. I normally didn't approve of Bakugo's behavior, but these kids had it coming. They were blocking our door after all.

"You can't walk around calling people 'extras' just because you don't know who they are!" Iida scolded a not listening Bakugo.

At this point I was getting annoyed as well and started to make my way to the door to push past the group of students however I had to. Just before I could voice my complaint, a pale boy with wild purple hair made his way to the front of the students. His hands were in his pockets and a scowl was on his face.

"So, this is Class 1-A. I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass. Is everyone in the hero course delusional, or just you?" This purple haired kid eyed Bakugo up and down. "How sad to come here and find a bunch of ego maniacs."

"Okay that's enough, dude." I snapped. I couldn't take this alpha male bullshit anymore. "Bakugo may be an ass, but he's our ass." I motioned to Bakugo and flicked my eyes back to this purple haired boy. "Also, it's not ego, if you can back it up. Class 1-A will be taking every top spot in the sports festival. That's just fact. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can start to accept it." I completely channeled my inner mean girl. I even threw my hair over my shoulder and rested my hand on my hip. I think Bakugo would have started attacking me if he wasn't shocked at the fact that I was defending him.

The kid with purple hair turned his glare towards me now, but instead he just smirked at me with a raised eyebrow. He slowly got closer to me, but not out of the way of the door. He then directed the conversation to me, but too my surprise Bakugo was right at my side, as if daring the kid to take another step closer. It was nice of Bakugo, but I didn't need his help to protect my honor. I could handle myself just fine.

He finally started talking, "You know, I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life. I didn't cut it the first time around, but I have another chance. If any of us do well in the sports festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us to the hero course. And they'll have to transfer people out to make room." Some of the students gasped behind Bakugo and I, but our strong willed faces didn't change. "Scouting the competition? Maybe some of my peers are, but I'm here to let you know that if you don't bring your very best, I'll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a deceleration of war."

"Yeah okay dude." I grabbed Bakugo's arm because we were running out of gym time and I was done with this kid. I started to drag Bakugo with me out the door, but hesitated. "You know, Bakugo and I are about to go fight each other hand to hand in the gym. Some of the other kids from Class 1-A are too." I looked right into his purple eyes, "You can come join us if you'd like, but I know you wont. All you are is talk and no action. Step up or get the fuck out of our way." I looked around to all the students from the other classes that were standing in front of our door. "I don't want to see any of you here again unless it's to ask for help on how to improve yourselves." With my little speech done, I pulled Bakugo out of the room. The students that were going to be training with us today followed quickly behind.

Bakugo finally realized that I was showing dominance by leading him around, and he ripped his arm away from me and growled, "I didn't need you to step in back there."

I growled back, "That wasn't for you ass. I just wanted to get to training, and they were in my way."

We continued to head towards the locker rooms just glaring at each other. I was ready for our fight now. I was going to kick this guys ass.

The boys and girls separated ways at the locker rooms to get changed. I was so fired up from the little run in that I didn't make small talk with Ochako and Ashido. I needed to focus on this fight that I was about to have with Bakugo. I knew that he was stronger than me, and without my wings more than likely faster. I was still going to give it my all and try to learn from it. That's all I could do. It was the main reason I wanted to invite Bakugo. He was someone who could challenge me, physically and mentally. Dude knew how to get under my skin better than anyone in this class. Well maybe not better than Shoto, but that was for a totally different reason. Speaking of Shoto, he didn't say anything during the whole ruckus with the other students. He probably thought that I was being dramatic, but here's the thing, I am dramatic. If he couldn't handle it then he couldn't handle me.

I slipped on my sports bra and yoga pants and started to make my way for the exit before Ochako stopped me, "You're wearing that!?" Her cheeks were pink as she eyed my choice of outfit.

"What? It's more than Yaoyorozu wears for her hero costume. Plus, I normally have to factor in wings when I pick my work out clothes. This is the best choice for me." I shrugged off her comment. I knew she meant nothing by it. She was just a shy girl and my choices probably shocked her.

When I walked into the gym all of the boys were waiting there ready to go. This included Bakugo, Shoto, Deku, Iida, Kirishima, and lastly Kaminari.

I waved over at them and Kaminari was the first to speak up, "Damn, Mineta is going to be pissed that he didn't get invited." He eyed me up and down.

"Fuck, Kaminari, grow up." Bakugo was quick to once again defend me, which was annoying. He flicked his glare over to me, "So you ready to do this pigeon?"

I wasn't super thrilled because I knew he wouldn't hold back, but that was what I needed. I nodded up and down. We both knew the rules. No quirks allowed, otherwise we'll never get to use the gym again, and us poor kids couldn't risk that.

"First one to pin the other wins, right? I can't really afford to be knocked out right now." I asked while rolling my shoulders to get ready, He nodded.

The rest of the students were supposed to be doing their own sparing, but everyone was watching us. It would be distracting, but that's what normal fights were. You had to prepare for anything. Before the fight started, I pulled my long hair up into a high pony tail, which pretty much secured that I meant business.

Bakugo and I faced each other. He put his hands up to protect his face and bent his knees. I also put my hands up in front of my face, but I bent my knees lower than he did. I glared over at him and nodded to show that I was ready.

I didn't have to worry about starting the fight, because Bakugo was always the first one to make a move. He was quick on his feet and easily cleared the distance between us. He came at me with a left hook which I dodged by bowing my head underneath it.

He quickly switched tactics and came at me with his right arm now. I dodged and twirled away from him. Dodging wouldn't win the fight, but it would buy me some time to come up with another plan. He was heavier than me so I would have to be smart about my movements. If he pinned me, it would be over.

Bakugo grunted in frustration. I technically wasn't fighting him and that didn't sit well with him. His left hook came at me at lot faster this time. I wouldn't be able to dodge like I did last time. I needed to create space between us. I quickly did two back handsprings away from him and landed low on my feet, knees bent. He was right on my heels. His leg swung at my head and I dipped low enough that I was almost in a full split. As his leg flew over my head, I took the opening. I quickly lunged at him with my own right hook.

Bakugo was quick and twirled around and danced out of my way. He was using my own move against me and it took me by surprise and that was all Bakugo needed. Instead of throwing his fists at me like his normal macho self, he straight tackled me.

He aimed too high though and hit me at the top of my shoulders. I used his own weight against him and made him somersault over me, but he was quickly back up on his feet.

We stared each other down again breathing hard. Both of us were quick and fluid with our movements. Our quirks would have really made this fight more interesting, but as of right now neither of us could get a hold on the other.

Bakugo charged last time, so it was only fair that I made the first step this time. I charged him low and fast. Instead of face shots, I was going to try and get him in the core. When I reached him, I gave him three jabs and he let his arms take the hits. He held his ground, which extra pissed me off. So, I quickly swung my foot at him head and when he dodged it, I twirled and had my other leg go for his face. It hit! My second leg came so fast and he didn't know I could pull that kind of move off.

When my foot hit his chin, I caught myself smirking, but what met my gaze was terrifying. Bakugo was livid. He charged me again, but this time he tackled be lower like a foot ball player. He threw me onto my back, which left my arms open. My arms swung at his face and sides the whole time we were in the air, but he had gotten me in his grip. He was stronger than me and I had let my small victory distract me.

He grabbed my arms and pinned them above my head, but now I was in flight or fight mode. No matter the pain this was going to cause me, I had to try. With all my might, my forehead found his nose with a head butt. He yelled out in frustration and let go of my arms in frustration. He also leaned back a little from the impact, giving me enough room to flip onto my stomach and try to crawl away and get to my feet.

But this was Bakugo. The pain only distracted him for a second. He flew onto my back causing the wind to get knocked out of me. My stomach hit the ground and he was on top of me. He sat right on my ass and grabbed my arms pinning them behind my back. I had a second to get out of this or he would win. Before I could think of anything to break free, I felt his breath right on my ear, "Submit." He said it low and husky and it totally through me off.

Just as quickly as he said it, he was off me. The whole room had gotten a lot colder. I looked around to try and see what had happened, but the yelling answered that question for me.

"What the fuck icy-hot?" Bakugo was in Shoto's face.

"You clearly had won, you didn't need to publicly shame her." Todoroki wasn't screaming like Bakugo, but his tone was icy.

"She was the one who challenged me!"

I finally got to my feet. A little lightheaded from the headbutt. It wasn't the most graceful move, and this was more embarrassing than anything that happened in the fight. "Fuck you two, that's enough. Shoto he's right. I knew what I was getting into fighting him. Of course, he'd gloat."

"Not like that." Shoto didn't even look at me. His glare still focused on Bakugo.

"Whatever man." I had a feeling that Bakugo was going to say something stupid because he was feeling challenged. "Maybe you should put a muzzle on her than, so she doesn't pick fights she can't win." Yup there it was, that blinding rage that Bakugo could bring out in me.

My wings came out on their own accord and I screamed, "What the fuck did you just say! Like anyone could cage me you fucking piece of shit." Bakugo didn't know the nerve he struck. Someone trying to control me was my hot button issue and now everyone knew. "Look you won the fight, congrats. I'm done for today." I turned on my heel and went to leave. "Sorry everyone."

I heard the class break into arguments. Almost everyone was pissed at Bakugo for saying what he said, but I didn't care. I got what I needed today. Bakugo was one of my biggest opponents in the Sports Festival and I got a taste of his fighting style. Now I knew what I needed to work on. This was my plan from the start. I just didn't expect to leave with tears stinging the corners of my eyes. God I was so pissed.

Just as I was getting out of the school, I felt someone grab my arm and of course it was Shoto, and sadly he was about to get the brunt of my emotions, "What the fuck was that Shoto! I didn't need you to step in and save me." I screamed at him while I ripped my arm away. "Why were you even there? You didn't get anything out of it. You didn't even fight anyone. I thought you were SO busy with training."

When I didn't get an answer from him, I flipped around and went to walk away from him. He reached out and grabbed my hand this time. I flipped around and went to scream at him, but he quickly leaned in and kissed me. A hungry and passion filled kiss. My anger melted away and I threw my arms around his neck and pulled us closer together. The mini make out session didn't last nearly long enough, but we were in public after all.

Shoto was the first one to say something, "I missed you. That's why I came." He pulled me into his chest, and I let my face be buried there while he continued, "Plus this was an excuse my father could live with. I told him that my two strongest opponents were sparing after school and I needed to take notes." I pulled away when I heard what he really thought of me. He knew I was strong, and my heart skipped.

My anger melted all over again, I smiled up at him and said, "And did you, take notes?"

He smirked and nodded at me, "Yes."

"So you'll give it your all, even against me?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll be pissed if you don't."

"I know." We smiled at each other. "Well we better get home, it's already dark."

"Actually Shoto, don't tell anyone, but I'm going to fly home. I really need to stretch out my wings." I brought my finger up to my lips and winked at him.

He laughed and ruffled my hair. "Fine but be safe. Also, don't get caught."

"Don't worry. I haven't yet." We kissed goodbye. This one was longer but not nearly as aggressive. I pulled away from him slowly and waved, before dramatically undoing my hair tie and taking off into the sky. Shoto watched me until I was gone.

Our little moment was so perfect after all the bullshit of today, but there was something that we didn't know yet. Our moment wasn't ours alone. There was a red eyed, blonde haired rage-a-holic who saw the whole thing. He had felt bad and wanted to apologize for once in his life. Now he was angrier, and he has no idea why. All he knew was that Shoto was pathetic and he would show him how much in the sports festival.


	9. Chapter 9

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 9: The Sports Festival Begins**_

The two weeks before the sports festival flew by. Almost every day the same group of kids, minus Shoto and Bakugo, showed up to the gym to practice sparing. I had put a lot of effort into my hand to hand. Deku gave me a good run for my money too. Fighting against each other, we both learned a ton. Whenever I compared myself to other students in the class, I always overlooked Deku, and these two weeks had showed me what a mistake that was. Kid was strong and fast. Yes, he still needed to work on controlling his quirk, but his natural abilities were amazing.

Also, during the two weeks, all we focused on in Hero Classes was perfecting our quirks. A lot of my quirk was second nature to me, but I did teach myself a few things. My healing had also gotten stronger. With so many of my classmates pushing themselves there was a lot of healing needed. Recovery girl even started making an effort to reach out to me. She invited me to help heal a schoolmate's broken arm. Her healing was faster, but for people with no energy to siphon, it didn't work. That's when I would come in. The healing side of my quirk was always an afterthought to me, but she made me think that I could do great things with it. Maybe even some day heal a lot of people at one time, just like my dad used to do. I appreciated all the help with the healing, but I needed to work on my offense mostly for the festival.

All the work we'd put in was finally going to be put to the test. Today was the day of the sports festival. My nerves were out of control, but a lot of it was excitement. It was finally time to show the world what I was truly capable of. It was finally time to show my mother that I didn't need her help to be successful. I was going to do the UA way, and be better than her for it.

With today being a special day, and a day full of fighting, I braided my long hair back into a tight French braid. My bangs framed my face as always, but the length would not get in my way today. I also made sure to wear a tight low back sports bra so my wings could do their thing. We didn't get to wear our hero uniforms, but we did get to wear our gym uniforms. I was just going to ditch the shirt and rock my sports bra. Wings were a bitch when you didn't have the right clothes, and nothing was going to hold me back today. I gave myself a quick once over in the mirror and once I confirmed I was satisfied, I collected me things and went to head towards the door. I suddenly flinched when there was a knock at my door.

I was obviously surprised. Shoto had mentioned that we would meet at the school today due to his dad driving him. I admit I was a little nervous to meet him. I wasn't stupid enough to not realize who Shoto's dad was. People all over talked about it. Shoto's dad was the Pro Hero Endeavor. He was ranked number two. He had quite the reputation. None of that mattered today, and none of that pertained to whoever was at my door.

I set down my bag and went to the door. I didn't even think to look through the peephole, and just threw open the door. Japan was making me to easygoing, I guess. When I threw the door open, I was met with two of the most beautiful hazel eyes known to man.

Two dark arms flew around my waste and a high pitch scream rung in my ears, "MARINA!"

"NOVA!" tears filled my eyes and I started to sob. We both fell to the ground holding each other in the door of my apartment. I finally chocked out, "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be here for you if something important came up. How could I miss the Sports Festival?" She dried her tears and stood up pulling me with her. "I was almost late too! Get your shit and let's get over there. We can catch up later. You got some ass to go kick."

I was so dumbfounded that my best friend had made the effort to be here. I knew it wasn't cheap for her either, but I was to happy to scold her for wasting money on me like that. I needed her support today of all days, so I was going to shut my mouth about it.

I ran back inside and grabbed my purse. Nova left all her things in the entrance to my apartment to be put away later. I tried to get a read on how long she was staying by how many bags she had, but I didn't have too much time to think about it. Two days or two weeks, she could move in for all I care anyways.

After I got all my things we locked up and started to head for the train station. We walked arm and arm as we got caught up on the little things. I noticed that she was wearing a white t shirt with long black gloves that left no skin exposed and I just couldn't help myself from asking after we finally got to our seats on the train.

"So Nova, What's going on with the gloves?" I was pretty sure I already knew the answer, and I wasn't going to like it.

"My quirk. It's getting harder to control. I can pretty much feel every emotion someone has now if they touch my skin. It's been rather annoying in the bedroom." She made a joke, but I could feel her unease. Nova's quirk allowed her to feel someone's emotions just my touching them. She could even find out secret thoughts if she held on long enough. She was even able to find me lost inside my persona with her quirk. I frowned over at her, but she quickly cut me off. "BUT I did learn something cool with my quirk." She pulled off her glove and reached out to touch my face.

At first I couldn't tell what she was trying to do, and then I suddenly got a wave of complete ease course through my body. All the nerves of today were gone. I then started to feel confident. I knew that I was strong and I knew that I was going to win today. No one could stop me.

"Nova! Oh my god. You can control my emotions. That's insane. Also, very handy." We both laughed and she put her glove back on.

"Yeah it took me awhile to master, but I'm pretty proud of it. Don't worry though, the emotions I put into people disappear quickly. You'll be back to your normal ball of nerves here any second." She smiled over at me teasingly.

We finally reached our stop, but the wait to exit the train was insane. There were so many people everywhere. Everyone was trying to get into the Sports Festival. People were pushing and shoving just trying to get a glance at the pro heroes that were safely inside the UA walls. I could already smell all the food from the booths that were inside. It truly was a festival.

Nova looked over at me nervously, "I didn't even think about how I was going to get into this thing."

"Oh, it's okay. All the students get family tickets. I obviously didn't think I was going to use mine, but now I have someone!" I pulled her closer to me as I drug us to the entrance of the school.

There was press everywhere, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't flinch at the sight of them. Today was my day to shine and come out of the shadows, and that's exactly what I was going to do. I put my head high into the air and walked right past all the camera's flashing at us.

"Damn babe, you're like a celebrity."

"Not yet, but after today I will be." I winked at Nova as we pushed past the entrance.

There were people already filling the area. I found the ticket booth for students and I went and grabbed Nova my family pass. It was a temporary lanyard that let her walk around the campus without the alarms going off. As soon as she put it on, it couldn't be removed until the festivals end. It made sure that no one could steal them off family members.

"Damn this place is crazy!" Nova's eyes sparkled as she took in everything the school was.

We finally reached out separating point. I was to go to the 1A waiting room and she was to go to the stands. We hugged it out and she kissed me on the forehead, filling me with confidence as she did so. I laughed at her abuse of her quirk and left her to go have some fun before it all started. I wasn't worried about her. She was someone who could keep herself entertained.

I had worn my gym uniform to the festival, so I didn't need to change into it. I quickly found the 1A waiting room. I pushed open the doors and saw most of my classmates sitting down at the two giant tables they had in the middle of the large room. I instantly locked eyes with Ochako.

She ran up to me, "Marina! You ready for today." She put her hand into a determined fist.

"Fuck yeah I am." I made a fist right back at her. Both of us had giant smiles on our faces.

I looked over her shoulder and saw Shoto. His face was unreadable. He wasn't even making eye contact with me and I could tell something was going on through his head. I caught myself wanting to run up to him and check in, but Iida throwing the waiting room door open behind me shocked me into silence.

"Everyone! Get your game faces on! We're entering the arena soon!" Iida bellowed from the door.

The butterflies in my stomach grew and I looked back over at Shoto. He still wasn't looking at me, but instead at Deku. He casually walked up to him with his left hand in his pocket.

"Midoriya." Oh, I didn't like that tone he was using at all.

"Oh, hey Todoroki. What's up?" Deku asked him with honest curiosity.

"From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly clear that I'm stronger than you." I caught myself scowling over at Shoto.

'_what the fuck is he doing?'_

"uh.. um, yeah." Deku stuttered shamefully. Which just extra pissed me off at Shoto.

"However, you've got All Might in your corner, helping you out. I'm not here to pry about what's going on between you two. But know that I will beat you." Shoto stared Deku down. He didn't glare but didn't smile either.

"Wow, what's with all these declarations of war lately?" Kaminari asked confused but genuinely concerned.

Kirishima rose from his chair and walked over to Shoto. "Yeah, what's the big deal? Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started." Kirishima put his hand on Shoto's shoulder.

Shoto shrugged it off harshly, "We're not here to be each other's friends. Don't forget, this isn't a team effort." Shoto turned away from them but caught my disappointed gaze. I could tell that my look shook him, but he didn't show it.

Sadly, before he could say anything Bakugo had to say something extra stupid, "It's funny how you say that we're not here to make friends Todoroki, yet you and Marina seem extra friendly." Everyone looked over at me. I felt my face heat up a little, but it was mostly out of anger. This dude was trying to slut shame me or something. But then he said something even more stupid, "Since you're not here to be her friend Todoroki, you wouldn't mind if I did?"

'_Um, what?' _

Shoto glared over at Bakugo and I swear I saw a small spark come from his left hand. He was about to start making his way over towards him when we got the announcement that it was time to start heading into the arena. Even with the announcement no one wanted to be the first person to move.

"Oh, my fucking god, we don't have time for this alpha male bullshit." I snapped at them and flipped around as I threw my braid over my shoulder. "You all can bicker amongst yourselves, and while you're doing that, I'll pass all of you and take the win." That's exactly what I was going to do. I pushed by Iida and out the door. It was time to start taking this shit seriously.

The rest of the students were quick to follow. I wanted to talk to Shoto and see what the hell all that was about, but I wasn't going to have the time. He'd have to deal with his own demons today. We all made our way to a tunnel. There was a staff member telling us to wait until they announced our entrance.

We didn't have to wait long, because we clearly heard Present Mic get started, "Hey! Make some noise, all you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes! This year we're brining you some of the hottest performances in sports festival history, guaranteed!" The crowd screamed and cheered. Everyone was pumped up. Knowing that Nova's voice was one of them made my heart melt. "I've only got one question before we start this show: Are you ready?" More screams. "Let me hear ya scream as our students make their way to the main stage."

The staff member nodded to us to let us know it was time to enter. I looked to my left and saw Deku. Him and I made eye contact and we both nodded at each other. We would be leading the class out onto the field. We both put our heads high and straightened up our backs and finally walked out into the chaos that was the main stage. People were screaming and my eyes instantly found my best friend's smile. She was waving like crazy and I'm sure she was screaming just as loud as everyone else. This brought a huge determined smile to my face.

"This first group of students are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a villain attack. The dazzling students lighting up your TVs with solid-gold skills. The hero course students of Class 1A!" Present Mic screamed into the microphone. The crowd screamed even louder. It was deafening.

We walked out onto the field and I honestly felt like a gladiator. It was so exhilarating. I noticed Shoto was to my right now, but even though I was kinda mad at him I was too caught up in the moment. I bumped his shoulder with mine, which caused him to look over at me with a raised eyebrow. I smiled at him and pointed my finger to where Nova was sitting in the stands. He looked to where I was pointing and smiled.

"She surprised you?" He asked me, but I just barely heard him over all the fans screaming.

"Yes! How awesome is that." Too my surprise he made eye contact with Nova and he gave her a small wave, and even more shocking, she waved back. Apparently, she wasn't going to be a bitch towards him just yet. She was going to trust my judgment for now.

Present Mic quickly announced the rest of the classes; Hero course 1B, General Studies CDE, Support FGH, and lastly IJK. I never realized how many first years there really were, but we easily filled the entire stadium with bodies. The first round of the Sports festival would have to cut us down into a way smaller group too make it so we'd have time for everything today. It was a shame that not everyone was going to get their chance too shine, but that's just how it is in this world. Not everyone can be the number one hero.

When all the students finally came together after entering from different tunnels, we were greeted by Midnight the R-Rated hero up on a stage with her whip in hand. "Now, the introductory speech!" Everyone cheered for midnight while some of the students from class 1A disapproved of her outfit choices. Not Mineta of course. "Silence everyone!" She flicked her whip to quiet down the crowd. I'm sure Nova was swooning. She loved a strong woman. "And for the student pledge, we have Katsuki Bakugo!"

Everyone looked over at Bakugo with shock. I knew he was strong, but I didn't realize he was smart enough to score the number one spot. It was rather annoying actually. Dude was already cocky as hell, now he was going to have an even bigger head.

Bakugo casually walked up to the stage with his hands in his pockets and his signature scowl on his face. He walked up to the mic and said in a slow almost annoyed voice, "I just wanna say…I'm gonna win." The students erupted in boos. I was mortified. What a stupid way to start the sports festival.

'_And this guy wants to be my friend. Yeah, no.' _

Iida started scream at Bakugo, "Why would you be so disrespectful. You're representing us all!"

"Not my fault the rest of you are just steppingstones to my victory." He gave the whole class a thumbs down.

Bakugo walked off the stage and right in between Deku and I. He never made eye contact with us, but I could feel the negative energy flowing off him. Something was going on with him, and it made me start to think that maybe this was all bravado. If he held himself to this standard, he would have to act on in and win. The only problem with that was, I needed to win also. He wouldn't stop me. He couldn't stop me. We all had our own reasons and Shoto was right in the aspect. We couldn't all be the winner today.

All the tv screens surrounding the stadium turned on and displayed the message 'First Game.' Midnight shouted out in excitement, "Without further ado, it's time to get started! This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival!" A hologram popped up behind her and started to spin. It spun for about twenty seconds before displaying the words 'Obstacle Course.' Midnight continued now that she knew the game. "All 11 classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium. I don't want to restrain anyone, at least in this game. As long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do whatever your heat desires." She flicked her whip for dramatic effect. The crowd screamed with anticipation. "Now then, take your places, contestants."

All the students made their way to one of the tunnels that led out of the stadium. This would be the starting line. I knew that I was going to be grossly exposed in front of all these cameras, but I didn't really have a choice, I needed to be able to use my wings so I pulled off the top of my gym uniform and just rocked my sports bra and the pants. I heard cat calls from some young guys in the stands, but I just ignored them, rolling my eyes. Now that I was free of my top, I let me wings come out on full display. The crowd cheered and I bowed dramatically and waved to the crowd as we waited to get started.

"Marina the angel of class 1A Everybody!" Present Mic screamed after my dramatic bow. I saw some girls from the other classes role their eyes at me and scoff, but none of that mattered right now. This was everyone's time to shine, and I was going to let myself shine.

All the students got into a ready position and the lights above the tunnel turned green. There were three green lights, and soon one disappeared. It was about to start. It was finally time. I took a deep breath in. The second light disappeared leaving only the last one. I let the breath out. I felt my wings tense up, ready to take me into the sky at a moment's notice. Then finally the last light went dim.

"Begin!" Midnight shouted.

Everyone took off instantly. I flew into the air to get an advantage on the rest of the students. With having to go through a tunnel, I couldn't fly too high, but I easily made my way through the tunnels entrance. All the students got stuck in the doorway to the tunnel. As they pushed each other and tried to get through, I just flew above it all. My wings would take me all the way to the finish line at this rate. But as soon as I thought I was in the clear, I got an icy cold rush.

Shoto was using his quirk to take the advantage. He filled the tunnel with ice freezing many students to the ground. Luckily, I was already in the air when he did this, but due his quirk it became almost impossible to see. I had to slow down to make sure I didn't crash into anything or anyone. Shoto beat me out of the tunnel and I was right behind him. Bakugo, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and Aoyama also didn't get caught in the ice and were behind me. There were a few other students from class 1A and even fewer from other classes that Shoto didn't freeze, but I was too far ahead to pay close attention.

The thing that caught me the most off guard was how quickly Mineta caught up to Shoto and I. The whole time I was in the sky, I was glaring at Shoto's back as he easily glided on his ice just barely faster than me. I was catching up, but so were a lot of people. Mineta used his sticky balls to hop around the rest of the students quickly. He had finally caught up to me in the air when I got a bad feeling. I always flew horizontally when I needed to go fast, but I came to a vertical stop. Shoto must have noticed because he also skidded to a stop.

Mineta, however, was completely clueless and thought he had an advantage, "You think you're so cool, but I've outsmarted you. How pathetic Todoroki! Eat This!" Mineta ripped another ball from his head and went to throw it at Todoroki, however he was stopped by a giant robot hand that seriously came from the ground. The Robot hand knocked him to the side. Some of the students screamed and asked if he was okay after he flew into the retaining wall of the track.

Now there were about twenty students facing down the robots that we faced during the entrance exams. Shoto, Mineta, and I had lost our lead as we tried to figure out the best way around them. It didn't take long for Shoto to come up with a solution. He Took down the 100-foot robots with a giant wall of ice. It happened so fast that it took my breath away. His quirk was indeed beautiful. I didn't ogle him for long though. He zipped so fast past the robots that he had regained the lead.

With him freezing the robots in place, I took the advantage of just flying over them. Sadly, I wasn't the only student to so this. Bakugo and I were side by side.

"Give up pigeon!" He screamed from my side.

I chose not to say anything to not get distracted. This clearly annoyed him, so he shot one of his hand explosions at me, causing me to cover my face with my arms, the shock wave sending me flying back. He took second place from me. The ringing was still loud in my ears, but I had to shake it off. Sero and Tokoyami were right behind us, as they also decided to fly over. Sero with his tape and Tokoyami catching a ride on dark shadow.

We continued like this until the second obstacle. I was so close to catching up to Bakugo, but I had to keep a distance, so he didn't set of an explosion in my face again. The second obstacle was ideal for me but also Bakugo. There was a massive crater in the ground that was about a foot ball field across. There were ropes for students to climb over and different landing platforms to jump too, but for the three of us in the lead, it didn't matter. Shoto just slid across the ropes with his ice, not slowing down at all. Bakugo and I just flew right over it without a second thought.

This was going to be easy at this rate. I just needed to catch up to Shoto and I'm sure that he wouldn't be able to just glide over every obstacle. Bakugo was my main competition right now. He could fly just like I could with his explosions, but he went slower due to how jerky his flying technique was, but his flying was also a good defense.

With the second obstacle being over in the blink of an eye for us, we were now on to the last obstacle. It was a mine field. I couldn't have been luckier. I could just fly over the 2 football field lengths of mines, while everyone else struggled. Bakugo once again would be my only problem. I needed to think of a way to get him taken care of so I could safely pass him.

Bakugo and I caught up to Shoto, because he had to slow down and start maneuvering around the mines. If he used his ice to skate over it, it would put the other students at an advantage and that would be too risky. What was even more risky though was slowing down. Bakugo and I were only a couple feet behind him now.

Before I could even think of how I was going to slow Bakugo down, he did something stupid. He picked a fight with Shoto knowing that I was right behind him. Bakugo gave himself an extra boost by firing out double the number of explosions, which was really starting to kill my eyes. As he was about to pass Shoto he started to brag.

He said with a devilish grin, "haha it's over. Bastard! Your declaration of war was to the wrong person!" Bakugo slowed down and turned his explosions towards Shoto. Shoto responded my freezing his arm slightly.

This was my chance to zip past them, and that's exactly what I intended to do. While him and Shoto were throwing punches back and forth I flew right past them. Bakugo yelled in frustration. He had thought that I was just slower than him, but I was just being caseous. He turned one of his hands towards me as I passed him, but I was ready for it and dodged the oncoming barrage of explosions. I was now in the lead and no one was going to stop me.

I was in the lead for only a few seconds when Shoto and Bakugo decided that fighting wasn't worth it and that catching up with me was the best option. I couldn't lose focus. I grinded my teeth together and pushed myself faster, but then something completely unexpected happen. It caused everyone on the ground to freeze, and sadly someone like me who was in the air was sent spinning to the ground due to a massive shock wave.

There was a loud explosion from behind all of us. Mines were being detonated this whole time, but none of them gave off an explosion like this. The explosion sent a shock wave that worked against my wings. They were compromised and lost the ability to hold me. My face met the ground quickly. I was still in the lead, but my wings had been taken out of the game. They weren't damaged severely, but they'd need some holy light after this round of the Sports Festival.

When I turned around to see what the fuck had happened, I was met with a Deku flying through the air. The little bastard had set off multiple mines to propel him to the front of the students. He was coming in fast and we needed to get moving if we had any chance of winning.

I started running at full speed. Without my wings I wasn't the fastest, but I had a lead on everyone. As I started to sprint, Deku was still in the air, Bakugo was using his explosions to propel himself forward, and Shoto was forced to start using his ice to catch up. All I could do was focus on sprinting and pray that none of them caught up to me. I even had to put my wings away to get rid of the extra weight, luckily this process was something I could do almost instantly now.

Deku started to lose altitude just as Shoto and Bakugo caught up with him. That's when he did the smartest thing he could probably do. He used their bodies to land while smashing his shield onto the land mines, making the explosions go off and taking making Bakugo and Shoto stumble. This also projected him forward. He landed with a roll into a sprint and was right next to me now.

This was going to come down to a sprint off. Both of us looked into each other's eyes, but only for a second. We then glared down the tunnel that brought us back into the arena and the finish line. Whoever came out of the other end of the tunnel first would win first place. Both of us used all our strength to run faster. We then both started to scream as we got closer and closer to the finish line. We were both giving it all we had.

I really did try my best, but it wasn't enough. Deku sprinted into the arena just seconds before I did. The crowd went wild. People were screaming and chanting his name. He shed tears of pride as he waved. With what was remaining of my energy I slowly walked up to him. I put my hand on his shoulder causing him to jump and look back at me with wide eyes.

I beamed a smile up at him, "Good job Deku! That was amazing. I'm so proud of you." And with that my legs collapsed onto the ground.

When I was hit by the shock wave, I had hit the ground pretty hard, and then to give myself no time to rest had destroyed my leg muscles. I through my head back and whined in frustration. It was a high pitch squeal, but I needed to get the emotions of second place out.

By this point most of the 1A students had filled the arena. Everyone had stayed together pretty well taking most of the top spots. A lot of students surrounded Deku patting him on the shoulder and giving him words of encouragement. I was only a little jealous, but I bit back the bad attitude and smiled up at the sky. This was just the first round, I still had plenty of time to come back and win.

I looked around to the other students and everyone seemed just as frustrated as me. Bakugo looked completely shocked and like he was about to go on a murdering spree. I think losing to Deku was just too much for him right now. He would be even more ruthless in the trials to come and that was not something I was looking forward to. Nothing that could be done about it now.

I finally found Shoto among the filling up arena. He was glaring at the ground and panting heavily. He gave everything he had, but still came in third place. I wanted to go over and comfort him, but I didn't know if it'd help right now. Plus, with all the cameras around, we didn't need to get rumors going. I decided to just take care of myself for now, and let him lead for today. He was the one with a reputation already for being Endeavor's son.

"The first game for the first-years is finally over, and what a game it was!" Midnight was shouting into the microphone to start moving things along to the next game.

This was my only chance to heal myself, so I took it. I called forth Holy Light and let my wings back out. They weren't damaged that much so the healing would only take a minute. I could see some eyes go wide and point at me as the small cuts and bruises on my body began to disappear. While I healed myself, Midnight went over the current standing in the Sports Festival.

Only the top 42 would continue in the sports festival. Apparently, there was some side opportunities for people to show off even if they didn't make it through to the main event, but luckily I didn't have to worry about it. I was going to push myself all the way through to the head to head battles at the very end. Then I would take the number one spot.

While Midnight was talking, I felt someone walk up to my left side, it was Shoto. Midnight was still talking and explaining things about the side events so we couldn't speak. All I did was give him a thumbs up and mouth the words, "good job." He noddded back and mouthed the words, "you too."

Midnight pulled us back in when she said this with a sickly-sweet grin, "Now the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best." I heard a growl to my right and saw Bakugo with the scariest looking face ever. I didn't make eye contact with him. I needed to avoid that guy. I causally switched over to Shoto's other side and put him next to Bakugo. Shoto just rolled his eyes at my antics and I laughed nervously.

Midnight continued with a flick of her whip, "Let's see what we have in store for you next. Will your wildest fantasies come true? What could it be? The waiting is torture." The same screen as before started to spin. We all held our breath waiting for what event would come next. "Prepare yourselves for….this!" The spinning stopped and across the screen were the words, 'Cavalry Battle.' So many of the students groined and I raised an eyebrow. I leaned into Shoto, "What the heck are those. We didn't have those back in the states."

Before he could respond, Midnight answered for him, "Let me explain. The participants will form teams of two-to-four people as they see fit. In theory's it's basically the same as a regular playground game. But there is one difference." She coyly looked over her shoulder at us. "Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course." The students started talking and coming up with their own conclusions. Midnight was not thrilled. She cracked her whip and screamed, "Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you." She composed herself before continuing, "Now then, the point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth five points, and 41st is worth ten. And the point vale assigned to the first-place contestant is ten million!" Everyone screamed out in shock.

The shock soon died and everyone was looking at Deku. I couldn't help it, I started laughing. It was hysterical. I leaned into Shoto again and whispered, "We all fought so hard to win, and now this…It's hilarious. Second and third place never felt so good." Tears were pouring out of my eyes.

Midnight was merciless with her evil grin, "That's right! It's a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!" She cackled into the mic.

I loved Deku, but this was my chance to take back the lead. Whatever it would take, I would take the number one spot. I knew that my best chance was to partner with one of the other top students. Shoto would be the obvious choice, but maybe even Bakugo. I looked over Shoto at Bakugo and he had the most devilish grin on his face. I decided to pass on him. We would never work well together anyways.

Before I could put too much thought into my strategy, Midnight bellowed from the podium, "First Years, these are the rules that you'll abide by; The game itself will last 15 minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them. And anther thing, Even if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, you can keep playing until time's up." The students started discussing different strategies to win, but Midnight wasn't done, "This is going to be tough. You may use your quirks as much as you like. But there are still rules! Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap you with a red card! You'll be disqualified!" This is when we were told we had fifteen minutes to pick out teams. Things were about to get interesting indeed.

When we were finally released to start picking our teams, I turned to look at Shoto and see if he wanted to pair up, but dude was already surrounded by other students begging him to be on their team. I looked through the crowd of students to its center in attempt to make eye contact with Shoto, but I was distracted by someone tapping on my shoulder.

I turned around to see who it was and was surprised to see the purple haired guy from class 1C who got mouthy with us a few weeks ago. I put my hand on my hip and was about to ask him what he wanted when he finally spoke, "Hey, I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot the other day. My name is Hitoshi Shinso."

He reached out to shake my hand with a nice laid-back smile, and I just wanted this conversation to be over so I decided not to be an ass today, "Marina May." I shook his hand.

His laid-back smile turned into a smirk which instantly sent chills down my back. I went to turn away from him and go find Shoto, but he reached his hand out to stop me. He then said, "Be on my team. All I need is you and me to win this." I went to laugh at his joke and turn him down dramatically, but then horror struck me. I was stuck in place. My body and mouth wouldn't respond to me. "Oh, I'm sorry Marina, you thought you had a choice. Let me clear things up then, you don't." He leaned in closer to my face to just speak above a whisper. "You will do anything in your power to help me win. If anyone from your class comes talks to you, tell them you're on my team and were too busy to be distracted. Now nod like a good girl." I grinded my teeth together so hard, I wanted to tell him to fuck off so badly, but I just nodded my head like he asked.

Sure enough, Shoto finally made his way out of the crowd of students and took my hand. He went to pull me to the team he created, already assuming I'd say yes, which I would have. He was completely shocked when I yanked my hand away from him. He spun around to look at me. When he looked into my eyes, he could tell something was wrong. They had a fog over them, reflecting my current mental state. Shoto didn't know what was going on.

"Marina are you okay?" His hand reached out to touch my face, but I took a step away from him.

"Sorry Shoto. I'm on Shinso's team and we need to strategize. I can't talk to you right now." I slowly turned away from him. Shoto noticed that my words lacked any emotion and he started to panic internally.

Shinso finally spoke up from my side, "Sorry Todoroki, you snooze you lose." Shinso put his arm around my shoulders and smirked.

I was pretty sure Shinso didn't know our full relationship, but Shoto didn't care. All he saw was someone messing with me, and I apparently having no control over it. Shoto swore he would protect me and that's what he was about to do. Shoto grabbed Shinso by the collar of his gym uniform. Shinso didn't even remove his hand from out of his pocket. Shoto really wanted to punch this guy. He even felt his hand start to raise, but Yaoyorozu flew up behind him and grabbed his wrist.

"Todoroki, Marina has made her choice, we need to focus on the event. If you hit him you could get kicked out of the Sports Festival or even worse, expelled." Yaoyorozu chastised him. "Iida said he would join our team, so lets just go and strategize ourselves." Yaoyorozu pulled on his hand.

If I wasn't in a frozen state, I would have ripped her hands off of him. I had always felt like she gave him just a little too much attention, but I'm not one of those girls who control their men like that. Shoto looked back into my eyes one more time and pleaded with me to wake up from whatever was wrong with me. My eyes just stared blankly back into his.

Shoto finally walked away rejected. I felt my heart drop, but I knew that if the circumstances were different, he never would stop fighting for me. He would have punched Shinso, but as things were, I didn't want that anyways. Shoto shouldn't be expelled to save me. As soon as I was free, I was going to get my own justice anyways. I internally glared at Shinso's smug face.

It was finally time to begin. My mind was still clear, but my body listened to Shinso's every command. My main command never changed. Do whatever I have to to win. Shinso motioned for me to get onto his back, and my stomach turned, but my body complied. This was exactly how it felt when my Holy Knight persona took over, but she was strong and could stand up for herself. Physically it felt the same, but emotional this was so much worse.

While I was on Shinso's back I let my wings come out but keep them tight to my back just in case I needed an emergency exit. They said that anything was allowed as long as we didn't hit the ground, so I was going to use full advantage of my wings. I tied our points around my neck and braced myself for Midnight to give us the green light to start. While we waited, all I could focus on was Shinso's hands on my thighs and my breast pushed into his back. My legs were covered, and I had my sports bra on, but I still felt completely violated. In these quiet moments before the storm, I planned my vengeance against Shinso. I felt eyes on Shinso and I. The pairing didn't make sense and everyone from my class knew something was up, but with only seconds to spare, no one had a chance to ask me anything.

Present Mic screamed into the mic from the announcer booth him and Aizawa currently occupied, "After 15 minutes to pick teammates and talk strategy, 13 cavalry teams are preparing to go head-to-head."

I felt Aizawa's quizzical stare on me as he said with peaked interest, "I see some unexpected student combinations."

Present Mic ignored the comment, "Come on, everyone get your hands in the air!" He screamed. "It's time for an arena-thumping UA battle royal! Let me hear you scream!" The crowd screamed, and I screamed on the inside.

Shinso squeezed my legs tighter to his body and said, "I hope I bet on the right horse here." I scoffed internally at his worry. How dare he in prison me and still have doubts.

"Let's get this party stared!" Present Mic screeched dramatically, "One final count down before the game begins! 3….2….1"

Midnight screamed, "Begin!"

And we were off. With me finishing second I had a high number of points, but no one from class 1A cared. They were all after Deku. This was perfect for us, because it meant that we could pick off the weaker groups of students. We would let the bug guys fight it out and at the end we'd maybe get involved.

Shinso and I first went up to a team of 2 students just like us. I quickly summoned my holy sword. Shinso grunted underneath me, clearly not used to the weight. Before he could complain I flew out of his arms because I was nervous he couldn't hold the weight much longer, and straight at the duo. The rider was a basic looking girl from class 1C. She screamed as I swung my sword at her head. I was careful to only cut the fabric of the headband and grab it with my other hand as it fell. The sword flying at her face must have thrown her off because she didn't even try to use her quirk against me. I let my sword disappear and safety landed on Shinso's back tying the new headband around my neck.

The girl whined at midnight, "That not fair! She can fly!"

Midnight smirked and screamed, "She didn't touch the ground, so I'll allow it!"

I wasn't the only kid flying around though. Bakugo was going crazy after the little bitch boy from class 1B. Apparently, he had stolen Bakugo's quirk and headband, this was a poor choice for the boy. Shinso and I didn't get involved in that fight either. Deku also had jetpacks due to a girl from support being on his team. Flying was free game; it just came easier for me than the others.

We just hopped around the weaker groups stealing all the small number head bands we could before time ran out. Eventually though we ran out of small fry to pick on. This was also when Present Mic announced that we were already halfway done. That's when I felt my wings flinch alerting me to something coming at us. I summoned Holy Light around Shinso and I. That's when a tongue and a bunch of purple balls slammed into it. It wasn't strong enough to break the barrier, but it alerted us to someone coming at us. It was Shouji, but clearly that wasn't his tongue or his balls. He had his arms up making a shell on his back, inside the shell was Mineta and Tsu. It would be hard to break his arm barrier, but they challenged me, so it was on.

I started to feel my body move on its own, so clearly it had an attack plan. I summoned my holy bow on the back of Shinso. I pointed the bow right at the tiny hole that Tsu and Mineta looked out of. I summoned a small arrow into the bow. I wanted to stop myself, but Shinso made it clear, whatever it takes to win. Sadly, my body felt they were a threat that needed to be dealt with. I pulled back the bow and sent off the arrow. It was quick, but Shouji saw it coming and flinched. He spread out his arms to let the arrow pass through. I flew out of Shinso's arms and kept firing arrows so that Shouji couldn't close his arms again. Mineta and Tsu hung on for dear life as Shouji dodged my arrows. Mineta currently had the headbands that they had collected around his head. I shot an arrow at his head severing the bands and swooshed in to catch then. Tsu's tongue tried to beat me to them, but I grabbed her tongue instead, my other hand grabbing the headbands. She put her hands up in surrender and I let go and flew back to Shino's back.

After Shouji's team lost their headbands, they decided it was a good idea to get in the middle of Shoto and Deku's battle to try and get some points back. My defense was too strong. Shinso and I easily had enough points to move forward at this point. We were in second place, but that's when I remembered the command he gave me.

As if he read my thoughts, "Remember Marina, I said everything we had to do to win. Let's go steal those 10 million points." He started to approach them slowly, but I just flew off his back. He would just be holding me back and even my body acting on command knew this.

When I took off into the air, I saw Deku and Shoto facing off. No one had yet to make a move at the other. Shoto quickly changed this by commanding Iida move forward, and that's when I saw two things that sent me barreling after Shinso who stupidly stood too close to the fray. It wasn't only Todoroki at this point going after Deku, it was everyone. At this point almost no one had headbands and they were desperate for the 10 million to stay in the game. Also, I notice Yaoyorozu creating an insulated blanket. This meant one thing, Kaminari was about to go full electric.

I scoped up Shinso and right after the big shock came. Kaminari stunned everyone except his own team and our team who took off into the air. Shoto then froze the ground making half of the teams taking out of the game due to being stuck. He then grabbed all the head bands from the teams we missed earlier. They then continued their attack on Deku. They went back and forth on attacks, but I had to stop watching closely. I needed to get Shinso back to the ground, so I could join the fighting.

I swopped down and set Shinso down. I was then back into the air. By the time I reached teams Shoto and Deku, they were back in a standoff. Just when I was about to make my move, knowing there was only minutes left, Iida did something crazy. He moved in nearly a blink of the eye across to Deku, giving Shoto the chance to grab his ten million points headband right off his head.

I wanted to smile, but my body was still not mine, and I needed to whatever I could to win. I wasn't going to settle for second place this time. I once again summoned my Holy Bow and pulled back on the string. Deku and Shoto were too bust throwing blows back and forth to notice anything that I was doing. This worked perfectly to my advantage.

I sent a barrage of arrows at them. Shoto and Deku both froze as soon as I released them. They both looked up to me in shock, but it was too late. They were pinned down. Yaoyorozu created a shield to put over their heads, but her arms were growing weak from holding it up. I always made it look easy, but metal was heavy and required great upper body strength. Deku's team was also pinned down. Dark Shadow made the mistake of taking the hits, but my arrows were made from Holy Light. If he kept it up, he would be destroyed.

I eventually had to stop my attack and try at the 10 million points. I dived down at Shoto. Dark Shadow retreated into his host and Deku's team also advanced. Shoto got nervous and did something neither of us expected him to do. He summoned fire from left side. It was a small blaze, but it was designed to keep up away. I flew up and decided to attack his right side, but Deku didn't back down from his left. Deku put his hand into a flat surface and chopped at the air using his quirk. The power from his quirk blew out Shoto's fire leaving a chance for Deku and I both to steal headbands from his neck. The points were turned around so neither of us had any idea which ones we would get. I stole the one from the top and Deku stole one right underneath it.

"With just 11 seconds left team Midoriya is back in the game!" Screamed Present Mic.

That's when it hit me. I looked down at the points that I had stolen from Shoto. The headband read '70' points. I felt rage grow into my stomach. I needed to get back down there, but there was no time. The words on repeat in my head. _"Anything you need to do to win."_ I felt my eyes darken and a strange feeling took over my body.

Deku had also noticed that his points were not the 10 million everyone wanted. He had gotten enough to take him to the next round, but none of us would be satisfied unless we won. His team called forth a still recovering Dark Shadow and Shoto responded by using Kaminari's lighting to protect.

I on the other hand heard present mic counting down from ten. My body went into survivor mode. I summoned two swords. The swords were surrounded by Holy Light. They glowed bright which was a strong contrast to my angered features. _"Anything."_ I dove down into the fray. As I approached, Deku looked up and was taken back by my features. He screamed to have Dark Shadow return to not be slashed away. Tokoyami complied and they moved back and away from Shoto.

Shoto saw their quick motions and looked up at me, but it was too late, I was right on top of him. Out of pure instinct he protected his team with ice. He created a small shield like wall in front of them, but with just a swipe from my overpowered swords, the wall was cut in half. Leaving team Shoto opened. He looked into my eyes and saw nothing but pure animal instinct and was taken back. He hesitated and Yaoyorozu screamed at him to wake up. I swung my swords at his neck, and the crowd gasped. Everyone knew I was too out of control to manage such a precise motion like before.

"Times up!" Present Mic halted my motion just as my sword reached Shoto's throat, a small drip of blood appearing where my blade made contact. "And with that, the second round is officially over."

Shoto's wide eyes looked into mine. The game was over and so was my mind control. It was like a switch went off in my brain. The fog cleared from my eyes and I blinked a couple times. Shoto raised his white eyebrow to me, waiting to see if I was truly back. I pulled my swords to my side and looked downward. I dropped my swords and they disappeared before even hitting the ground. I wanted so badly to cry, but this blind rage found it's way to me first. Shinso had someone to answer too.

I turned quickly on my heals and found him trying to hide behind some of the other students, but they quickly moved out of my way when they saw the look on my face. Shoto quickly hopped off his team and tried to catch up to me. His team followed him too intrigued to not.

I quickly found my way to Shinso and he held his hands up defensively, "Look Marina, we made it to the battles, can't you just be happy with that, and let this go?" He smirked, but he knew what I knew. I was not someone to let this go.

I screamed and tackled him into the ground. He was not expecting me to confront him in front of all these people. Especially why Present Mic was announcing the winners, Team Todoroki, Team Midoriya, Team Bakugo, Team TetsuTestsu, and us. None of that mattered to me right now. I had felt so used and the person who used me this time was weaker than me. For some reason that made it so much worse in my stomach.

Shinso was shocked as I straddled his stomach and lifted my fists to hit him in the face. I threw one punch at him, and screamed in his face, "Who the fuck do you think you are?" Hit him again, "Do you have any idea how it feels to be used like some tool?" Hit him again. "Well do you? Answer me you piece of shit!" At this point I felt two arms grab me and pull me off of him. I then tried to kick him, but I was drug away.

I realized it was Shoto pulling me back and I glared back at him, "Let me go Shoto. I'm going to show him how it feels to be completely helpless."

"Marina, I know your hurt, but this is not the time or place." He spoke softly.

"Fuck it isn't!" I pulled again at Shoto, but he locked me in his arms. I growled in response.

Shinso pulled himself from the ground and looked downward. He then laughed under his breath and smirked up at me. "Don't worry Marina, I already know how it feels to be completely helpless. My quirk leaves me few options to show off and it will always require someone stronger than me. I was forced into class 1C because my quirk isn't flashy like the rest of you. Doing what I did to you was my only option at getting anywhere, and I will not apologize for that." He turned his back to me and walked away. I growled at his retreating form. I could give a shit what his reasonings were.

I stopped struggling as his form disappeared and Shoto just held me in a hug from behind. They announced that it was time for a lunch break, but so many people didn't move. I had eyes on me everywhere. Students stared at me. Pro heroes stared at me. Even the fucking audience hadn't moved yet.

Midnight walked up to me and Shoto let go, "Marina, we need to speak with you privately. Please come with me."

I nodded and without looking back to the rest of my class, I followed Midnight. There was a chance that I was going to be kicked out for attacking another student once the games had ended. No matter the reasons, UA was not fond of violence amongst students. I felt my hand go into a fist and tears finally start to fall from my eyes. I had so much to lose, but Shinso taking advantage of me, which made me lose my mind. It was stupid to attack him, but I didn't regret it. All I could do now was own up to the consequences.

_**END**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 10: Battles Begin**_

I followed Midnight out of the arena and a few floors up into a room overlooking the arena. The room had a table in the middle and chairs surrounding it. The big open windows let you look down into the Sports Festival. Inside the room was Aizawa, All Might, and Principal Nezu. When Midnight and I walked in Nezu hoped out of his chair and came over to me. Nezu was a white bearlike man who stood just under 3ft tall. He wore a dark suit and red tie. He also had a scar over his right eye. Most would think he was intimidating with the scar, but he was a little ball of positive energy, even when dealing with someone who just punched her schoolmate in the face.

"Ms. May! How are you doing today? You're doing very well in the Sports Festival right now. You should be proud of that." He smiled and nodded at me. Not sure what to say to, I just nodded back at him. "Well now that the pleasantries are out of the way, come have a seat. I'm sure you know what we need to talk about."

"Yes sir." I stated blankly. My hands were sweating, but I forced myself to take a seat. I sat at one end of the table while all the teachers sat at the other. It felt like them vs me, and it wasn't a good feeling. I just had to bite my tongue and be respectful. That's all I could do at this point.

"So, Ms. May," Nezu was getting right into this, "You are aware that attacking another student is never aloud, unless engaged in a class training correct?" I nodded. "So, it was quite shocking when after being so successful with Shinso, that It would lead to you being so upset. Will you please tell us teachers what happened and why you felt violence was the answer?" Clearly, he didn't think violence was the answer. It was a backhanded question.

I sighed heavily and looked down at my hands that were now laced together on the table. "I'm sure you know what Shinso's quirk is, correct Principal Nezu?" He nodded and so did the other teachers. "Well, before the match Shinso used his quirk on me without my consent and forced me into being on his team for the match. He then forced me to fight my own friends and behave harshly to people I care about to keep them from getting too close to us." Tears started to fall, which shocked my teachers, but I continued, "It was horrifying and humiliating. I could remember everything I was doing, but I had no control over my own body." I pulled my hands apart and slammed my fist down on the table. I wasn't trying to be dramatic; I was still just so mad. "I understand that attacking Shinso was wrong, but I was just so appalled that he would ever think something like that is okay. We weren't even in a match! I needed him to remember that sometimes victims aren't so weak, so he should really make smarter choices next time." My explanation didn't make sense to my own ears, but I was hoping they'd find mercy on me anyways.

"Hm, I understand Ms. May." He hoped out of his chair and walked over to me. He took my hands into his paws. "We never want you to feel like this again, and we will have a talk with Shinso so no other student ever feels the way you feel right now." He let go of my hand and turned his back to me, "However, violence is never the answer with disagreements amongst students." Maybe Bakugo needed this conversation more that me. Nezu turned around and said, "So let's not let his happen again okay? Next time, please get a teacher involved if you are this hurt." They were going to let me stay and compete in the Sports Festival. The joy filled up my body.

The tears were gone, and I beamed up at all the teachers, "Thank you all! I won't let you down."

Aizawa glared down at me, "Don't make us regret this choice. You have so much potential. Don't let anyone take that chance away from you."

All Might smiled down at me and gave me a thumbs up, "You can do anything you set your mind to Marina! Go out there and give the Sports Festival all you got."

I nodded at them with a big smile still on my face, but Nezu had one finally question for me, "Ms. May, there's one more thing regarding Shinso." I held my breath, "We need to ask you if you feel comfortable with him competing in the remainder of the Sports Festival." I felt my heart tighten. I wanted to be a dick and say 'fuck him' but an even darker thought crept into my mind.

"Yes Nezu. Let him compete. I know how much this means to all of us and he was just doing what he thought was his only option." I gave them a dazzling smile. They all bought it, except Aizawa. He watched me closely as I stood from my chair and said my goodbyes. He sensed my truth intentions, and he didn't honestly care. He, like I, thought Shinso had it coming. Shinso was going to get his ass kicked in the Sports Festival one way or another, and I just couldn't wait. As I walked out of the doors my dazzling smile turned into a devilish grin.

My grin came to a halt when All Might followed me out of the room, and put his hand on my shoulder, "Let's walk to the cafeteria together." He said. He clearly wanted to check my mental state, and I wasn't going to push him away.

We walked together. All Might doing all the talking. He shared his views on how the Sports Festival was going to far. He gave me words of encouragement and I smiled up at him. You could tell All Might cared for his students, and I was lucky enough to be included in that. We were just about to walk down the stairs when I saw him for the first time. A very tall man with red hair pushed back. He had a navy-blue jumpsuit on, and he was covered in constant flames. It was Endeavor, Shoto's dad. I felt my heart race and I looked over to All Might.

All might had his signature smile on his face as he called out to him, "Longtime no see, Endeavor."

Endeavor flipped around with a dark glare on his face. His glare made my breathing stop. Dude seriously had a presence about him. He made me think of my mother, which did not put a good feeling in my stomach. "All Might." He said to him with malice in his voice. He looked All Might up and down before flicking his eyes over to me. I had never felt more exposed in sweats and a sports bra. I felt like I was instantly judged, and it was in a negative light.

"I haven't seen you since the press conference ten years ago. Been awhile. I saw you and figured I'd say hi." All Might had a little more bite in his voice than normal.

"Did you now? Well then, if that's all you wanted to do, we're done." Endeavor turned to walk away from All Might, but All Might did a flip to the next level of stairs, cutting off Endeavor.

All Might laughed hysterically the whole time he was in the air. When he landed, he did so dramatically and called to Endeavor, "Come on, why the cold shoulder?" Endeavor growled at him "You should be thrilled. After all, your sons doing very well out there just using half his power. You must be a great teacher." All Might clearly did not think Endeavor was a great teacher. All Might had distain for the Pro Hero Endeavour. I watched the interaction in awe, unable to walk away like my brain kept telling me to do.

"Are you implying something?" '_Yes Endeavor, I believe he is._'

"No. I want to know your secret. How do we train the next generation of heroes?"

"Do you really think I'd tell you anything I've taught the boy?" Endeavour finally having enough of the conversation went to walk around All Might. "You're all flash and no brains as usual." He bumped into All Might's shoulder. "Out of my way."

"Okay." All Might dropped the smile and I ran down to him and stood by his side watching Endeavor leave.

Endeavor stopped and glared back at us, "Let me assure you of one thing, All Might. Whatever it takes, That kid of mine will beat you, someday. I'll make sure of it." A sinister grin came to his face, "That's why I made him."

"You did what?" All Might couldn't even process what was just said to him. I felt my fists clench at my sides. Tools, that's all we were to parents like Endeavour and my mom. Shoto said he would protect me, and now I felt myself needing to protect him.

Before I could even think, Endeavour continued, "He's in a rebellious phase right now. But he will take your place. I'll make sure of it." His eyes then glared at me personally, "and you. Don't think I haven't noticed what's going on between you and my son. You will not hold him back any longer. I've made sure of that. You'll be hearing from her soon." He turned away to leave and I felt my blood run cold.

Like a caged wild animal, I lashed out, "Endeavour" He didn't give me the grace of looking back at me, but he stopped walking. "Do you think the two of you scare me? I've already beat her. She can come at me all she wants, but she wont win. I have support her at UA and friends that love me. Your son being the most important one to me." I glared down at his back and my hand went to my heart to try and tame the pounding. "Shoto will be better than you, and even better than All Might, but it will have nothing to do with you. It will be because he has surrounded himself with people who want that for him. People who push him to be his best self." I walked towards Endeavour and he finally turned around to look at me. By that point I was right on him, and now it was my turn to bump into him with my shoulder. His fire burned me. I heard All Might gasp from the burn that was now forming on my shoulder and arm. The anger in my heart made it unnoticeable. I glared back at Endeavour with a smirk on my face, "No one will stop me from loving your son, and helping him get to the top the right way." I turned around and walked away from the two pro heroes.

My thoughts were spinning as I made my way towards the lunchroom. I can't believe I just told Endeavour that I loved his son. I mean, I totally do, but like what level of love was still to be determined. I'm not one of those girls who doesn't fall for someone just because we mess around, but Shoto and I were more than that. At least, I think we were. A blush started to form on my face. '_fuck, I'm catching feelings. Real feelings. Deep feelings. This wasn't the plan. What am I going to do? Do I cool things off, but like stay his best friend?' _My mind kept spinning until I bumped into someone.

I looked up into a pair of mismatched eyes. It was Shoto of all people that I bumped into. A huge blush was on my face and I didn't know what to say. Shoto looked just as surprised to see me, his mind was clearly on something else, but that's when he noticed the arm that I hadn't healed yet. His eyes glared down at it, and his clicked his tongue.

I tried to calm him down, "Shoto! It's totally fine. Completely my fault."

He wouldn't look away from my arm. "He did this to you?" His voice laced in venom.

"No! I did this to me. I had to try and show him who's boss. I always thought his flames on his costume were decorative. Who knew? Clearly not me." I awkwardly laughed. Shoto finally looked into my eyes and the intense stare cut of my laugh. "Shoto, really, I'm okay. You know I can fix it; rtI just had my mind on everything your dad said." Shoto brought up his cold hand and laid it on the burn. It stung for a second, but then the soothing coldness took over. I leaned into his hand with a smile.

"What did he say?" Shoto was standing only inches from me now.

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me. I need to know what he said to you. Please, Marina." His eyes were pleading.

"Ugh, Fine. First off though, I am not one to give a shit about parents not liking me. Nothing he says to me changes how I feel about you Shoto, okay?" Shoto just nodded. Scared that I would back out if he cut me off. "Well, pretty much he said that I was a distraction that needed to be removed from your life." I wouldn't make eye contact with him for the next part, "So he called my mom to come and deal with me, apparently."

Shoto glared down at the floor, "I'm sorry Marina. I should have stayed away from you today of all days."

"Shoto, stop. She was going to see me today anyways, and I'm not scared anymore. It'll be hard, sure." I pushed his hand off my arm and threw my arms around his waist. I buried my face into his shirt and nuzzled in. "But I have you, and that's all the matters right now." His arms locked behind my back and I felt him sigh. "Hey Shoto…you know that you can tell me anything right? This relationship works both ways. You protect me, but I also protect you." I pulled back and looked up at his face. His eyes were wide. While I was with Endeavor, Shoto was having it out with Deku. Deku had told him that he had only gotten to where he was because he has people supporting him. Shoto had thought that was crazy and that you should only rely on your own power, but here I was. Offering him the support he thought he didn't need, and all Shoto could do was accept.

Shoto put a hand under my chin to hold me in place. He leaned down slowly, but with intent. His lips found mine and I was once again under his spell. His kiss was soft, but so full of emotion. It was clear to me that I wasn't the only one catching feelings, and it scared me. I hadn't let myself be in love with someone before. My ex Connor was such a weird time in my life. I had just started staying with Nova and I was a little wild child. He never knew the real me. The hero me that Shoto and my classmates only knew. It was very exposing, and I didn't know if I could handle it. All I knew was that I wasn't going to stop myself from enjoying the way his lips felt on mine.

Endeavors words came back into my mind, _'you will not be a distraction any longer'_, and it triggered something in my primal. This could be the last kiss I could have with Shoto if Endeavor got his way, and that was something I couldn't live with. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed my tongue into his mouth. I knew we were in a hall that anyone could walk down, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was this connection that I shared with Shoto and I couldn't let him go, not yet. Shoto didn't seem to mind either. His tongue toyed with mine for dominance. He pushed me back against the wall, his hands roaming all over my body as our mouths did their thing.

We broke apart to get air, and when I looked into Shoto's lust filled eyes, I almost thought about letting him fuck me right here. Shoto had similar thoughts. He took my arms and put them above my head. His thigh went in between my two legs letting me grind on his leg to sooth my growing desire. Arms still above my head, Shoto's mouth played with my ear and then started to make its way down to my neck. His lips were cold now from all the excitement and when he found my favorite spot on my neck, I let out a whimper and rubbed hard against his leg. He noticed my reaction and started sucking harder.

I let out with a hushed whimper, "Shoto! This is too much! Someone could see us." He pulled back and investigated my blush ridden face. I was panting now, which would be so embarrassing for me if he wasn't so into it. His cold hand went to the side of my face. I kissed his palm before pressing my check into it, to cool off, my eyes closing.

"Well what if we went somewhere more private?" My eyes shot open. Shoto had a blush across his cheeks, but his eyes were determined. He wanted me and he wanted me now. I felt my insides tighten at the idea of being with Shoto. It would be his first time though, and inside a school was not how that should be.

I was about to turn him down, even though I really didn't want to, but I was cut off by the sound of Present Mic echoing through the school, "All year 1 students please make your way back to the arena. It's time." That was all he said.

Shoto quickly pulled himself off me, but it looked like it was more to calm himself down then to give me space. I could see him how hard he was, and it made me want to jump him all over again, but instead I turned to humor like I normally did, "Damn, Shoto. We can't be alone anymore. This sexual tension may actually kill me." I laughed trying to tame my own frustrations.

"I guess next time we'll just have to deal with it." He smirked up at me.

I gasped, "Since when are you so confident huh?" I playfully smacked him in the arm.

Shoto laughed and pulled me along to start heading to the area, but he just couldn't help himself from leaning down to my ear as we walked. he whispered, "Hearing you whimper out my name does a lot to my ego." The blush that took over my face burned.

"Shoto! You can't say things like that to me right now!" I yelled a little too loud. We were close to the arena at this point and students turned around and looked at us suspiciously. I let out a little scream of frustration and ran away from Shoto and all his hormones. I pushed past the students who looked at us. Shoto held eye contact with them and just shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. He was getting too confident and I didn't like it. Well I found it sexy as fuck, but this wasn't the time.

All the students gathered into the arena. Shoto easily caught up with me and took his place at my side and I wrapped my arm around his. His dad was already clear of out intentions and I could give a fuck what anyone else thought if Shoto was comfortable with our public displays of affection. I felt his body go rigged and I looked up at his eyes nervously thinking I may have read him wrong, but his eyes weren't on me. They were glaring over at Shinso who was staring at us with a lazy smile on his face.

"Don't mind him Shoto." I whispered into his ear, but then I started speaking loudly, "He's weak and will get what's coming to him. He won't be able to rely on my strength the next round." I pulled Shoto away from the situation and closer to Midnight who was now on the podium about to speak to the students.

"Come closer and draw lots to see who you will be going up against in the tournament. Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start. The 16 finalists have the option of participating in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I'm sure you all want to conserve your stamina."

After Midnight's little speech the tournament brackets were announced. I scanned though the list of names and found mine. I was on the opposite bracket of Shoto, which would mean that we would only face each other if we made it to the very end. I would have to make it through my bracket first. The first opponent I was up against was Kirishima. I looked over at him and caught his eyes staring at me. When his eyes caught mine, he flinched and looked away nervously.

I hadn't been given a lot of alone time with Kirishima, but from every encounter that I had had with him, I could tell he was a good guy with a strong quirk. I made the choice then and there that I would stay out of the side games and plan for the battles to come. I also noticed earlier that Bakugo was in my bracket. Bakugo was a beast of a fighter, so I really needed to plan a strategy if I had any hopes of beating him. If anything, our match a few weeks ago showed that he was stronger than me. However, I was a whole different person with my quirk. I wouldn't be beaten so easily.

Todoroki and I stayed on the sidelines while our classmates participated in a scavenger hunt for one of the side games. He mentioned that he was going to go on a walk to clear his head. I stayed behind to watch the others. While they competed against each other, I really started to think about the battles to come. By the end of all the games I was confident in myself and my quirk. I really wished that I had time to go over to the spectator side and talk to Nova, but I knew she would understand. I had to give this my full attention.

With my mind cleared and confidence set, I finally got around to healing my burned arm. Shoto had soothed it a lot, to the point where I almost didn't notice, but the relief was starting to wear off. The healing was quick and simple. I watched my skin closely at the blister started to heel completely. It healed like a golden wave over my skin. It was rather beautiful being under my holy light. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to always have my light in dark places. It warmed my skin and soul all at the same time. The teachers started to clear the arena to make room for the stage that was to be built by the pro hero Cementoss and his cement manipulation quirk.

"Hey sports fan! Are you ready?" Present Mic shouted from the announcer's booth. It was time to get started on the finals. My eyes looked around trying to find Kirishima, and when they did, he was staring right back at me. Kirishima smiled a toothy grin and gave me a thumbs up. I laughed under my breath and gave him one right back. No matter the outcome, both of us were going to give it our best.

The first fight was to be Shinso and Midoriya, and I had no doubt that Midoriya would prevail. People were starting to talk about his quirk after I had attacked him. It made me feel good that my class knew there had to be a reason for me to go after someone. They knew I would never hurt anyone who was innocent. Yes, I may have not thought it through, but I stand behind what I did.

The first battle was short lived. There was a moment where the crowd believed that Deku was going to fail. He had fallen for Shinso's tricks and mind games. Shinso had made a comment about how easy I fell under his spell and how weak minded I must be. I was surprised to see Deku have my back. He shouted and defended me, calling me a true hero. I was totally flattered. I didn't even dwell on the shit Shinso was throwing out there about me. It was easier too without Shoto being around to glare daggers or go after Shinso himself. He didn't get to watch this fight seeing as his was next.

Even with Deku letting his lips slip and getting mind controlled for a second, he was still able to pull through. He broke two of his fingers and snapped himself out of it. Shinso got too worked up about his mind control being broken so easily. I smirked sinisterly from my spot in the stands during the whole thing. Shinso became really unhinged after Deku made his counterattack. It didn't satisfy me the way I wanted it to. He was screaming about his quirk and how jealous he was of Deku who got a heroic quirk. It was so sad, but it didn't mean you could victimize others to make yourself feel better. Deku pushed him out of bounds passionately. You could tell Shinso words had gotten to him.

That wrapped up the first match. After each match they took about a fifteen-minute break to get things ready. I decided that I was going to go find Shoto and give him some love before the match. Maybe it would help him with his nerves. I knew that it would help me for sure. I made my way down to the waiting rooms and turned a corner just as Shoto turned the other one. I was about to call out to him from my end of the hall when I heard him speak out to someone in a harsh tone, cutting me off. I slowly walked closer to them, keeping my noise to a minimum.

It was Endeavor that was talking to Shoto, I would tell that easily now from the words I heard next, "You're acting disgracefully, Shoto. If you simply used the power in you left side, you would've had overwhelming victory in the first rounds. It's time to stop this childish rebellion of yours. You have a duty to surpass that imbecile All Might." I heard Shoto's footsteps continue down the hall at a steady regular pace, ignoring his words, "Shoto, do you understand what I'm saying. You're different from your siblings. You're my greatest masterpiece." I felt my stomach turn and my chest ache for Shoto.

Shoto finally spoke, but never stopped walking away from his father, "Is that all you have to say to me, you bastard?" His voice was full of venom and spite for his father, "I'll win this match and advance using only Mom's quirk. I won't give you the pleasure of seeing me use your power."

Endeavor must have heard these words before because he didn't miss a beat, "Even if that works for you in this tournament, you'll soon find the limits of that power."

I had heard enough. I turned around to leave Shoto and his disgusting father. I was so angry that my nails were making my palms bleed again. I decided that it wasn't a good idea to follow Shoto at this point. I couldn't let my own anger distract him from this fight. He needed to focus on this match. I understood where Shoto was coming from, but I really wished he would realize that it was his power and it was beautiful just like him. His father couldn't tarnish that even if it had come from him.

I found my way back to the stadium just as Shoto was walking onto the field to fight Sero. I went and sat down by Ochako and grabbed her hand. She looked over at me and saw the anxious look on my face. I didn't meet her eyes because I was too busy staring down at Todoroki's emotionally dead eyes. He had so many feelings going on in his head that he couldn't show any emotion just in case one might slip out. My heart broke for him and a tear slipped out. I wanted to full sob, but I fought it back trying to be strong for him. Ochako didn't know how to react to my sudden onslaught of emotion, so she just kept holding my hand.

The fight was over the moment it started. Sero wrapped his tape around Shoto and started to spin him. Shoto thought an okay reaction to this was making a massive display off power. He made a giant wall of ice. The ice ripped up the walls of the stadium causing the complex to shake. He froze our entire area, making it so cold that my teeth chattered. We could no longer see down to the stage. All our eyes met was the solid wall of ice. The entire crowd was speechless as they announced Todoroki as the winner. Some people shouted words of encouragement to Sero for giving it his best. Shoto was just way out of his league.

My ass flew out my seat in annoyance. What the hell was Shoto thinking. Yeah, he was upset, I get it. That doesn't make it okay for him to freeze me and everyone else in the stands. I was still just walking around in a sports bra. Thank gawd for the extra padding, otherwise everyone would see how hard my nips were. I stomped through the halls until I finally found him. His eyes were still glaring at the floor, but he didn't have those dead eyes anymore.

I screamed out to him, "Hey Shoto." He looked up at me, but it was too late for him. I had stormed up to him and gave him a small, but firm shove. His eyes went wide in confusion, "What the hell was that bullshit? Fucking seal your classmates in an ice prison by walling up the stands. Do you have any idea how fucking cold I am right now?" My arms flew around my body and I shivered dramatically. He looked me up and down and a small smile came to his face. He shook his head and I finally broke a smile at him. I charged him again, but this times me arms flew out and wrapped around him, my face burying into his shirt. His arms wrapped around me and he pulled me closer, his head resting on top of mine. I finally pulled back and looked up at him, "Are you feeling better?" He glared over my head but nodded all the same. "Good."

I didn't know the words to say to him to make him feel better right now, but I could be there for him. I grabbed his hand and laced his fingers with mine. I pulled him along, back to the arena. As I mentioned before, we couldn't be trusted alone together right now, and I had a fight to go and win. It was just bad timing.

We arrived at the viewing room just as Kaminari and the vein haired girl from class 1B fight began. Shoto and I never let go of the other's hand even as we found out seats. When we sat, our knees rubbed against each other and Shoto released my hand to put his on my thigh. It was such a casual natural motion that I don't think he even noticed it, but my lady bits for sure noticed. Also, most of out class did too.

My face was red as Mineta screamed, "What the hell Shoto? You already making a claim to one of the hottest girl's in our class? That's bad bro code man." Mineta's eyes were glared into thin lines and his arms crossed his chest.

Shoto didn't even respond to Mineta and looked up into my face. He smirked a little when he saw my massive blush. I was not shy mind you, I was turned on, and it was killing my mental game right now. Shoto knew all of this and squeezed my thigh, pushing his fingers deeper under my leg. His eyes left mine to focus on the battle, but that damn smirk was still there. I grunted at him and looked down at the battle too, but I didn't move his hand.

This battle was a quick one as well. The girl from class 1B destroyed Kaminari by filling up the arena with her veins. They had to drag off Kaminari due to him using too much energy. His brain was fried, and he was stuck in his braindead mode.

The next fight was Iida against the pink haired engineer Mei from the support course. She had been on Deku's team during the Calvary Battles and had helped them win by using her 'babies' as she liked to call them. Everyone knew the outcome to this fight before it even started. Iida was tricked into being a model for Mei and her babies. After she had her fun with him, she stepped out of the ring with her hands up in that air, giving Iida the win. She had accomplished what she set out to do. She wanted to show off to the Pro Heroes, and she did just that.

The next battle was Mina and Aoyama. Aoyama shot beams at Mina and she used her acid to glide and dodge around. Aoyama eventually got a stomachache and Mina threw acid on Aoyama's

'beam belt' making it impossible for him to fight her off any longer. She finished him off with an upper cut. That was the end of their match.

There was only one more battle until mine with Kirishima. I slowly stood up and looked around at the other students. Ochako was missing and Deku was writing in his book about all the quirks he's witnessed so far. I looked down at Shoto and he was already staring up at me.

I smirked at him and gave him some bravado, "Don't tell me good luck, because I don't need it." I winked at him.

He smirked at me and nodded, "I know." I leaned down and kissed him quickly. It took him by surprise, but I was getting the feeling that everyone assumed we were an item anyways. I wanted what I wanted so I kissed him. I turned on my heel and walked away determinedly.

I half expected Shoto to follow me, but he didn't. I was surprised however that someone was waiting to speak with me in the waiting room. As I opened the door, I was greeted by red eyes glaring down at me. Bakugo was only a couple steps into the room and a few feet in front of me. His eye pierced mine, and I suddenly got nervous with how close he was to me.

"What's do you want Bakugo?" I walked around him as I entered the room and took a seat on one of the benches in the room. Bakugo came and sat down beside me on the bench but faced the opposite way.

He responded, "If you win this fight, you know that I'm next right."

"Cocky, Bakugo. You still have to beat Ochako."

He grunted, "When we fight in the next round, I won't hold back against you."

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at him trying to meet his gaze, "I know Bakugo. I wouldn't want you to."

"So, no matter what happens. You won't hold it against me?" His words were spat out harshly, but his eyes were soft. His eyes finally found mine and I once again felt how close he was to me. Our shoulders were brushing against each other.

I blushed and scouted a few inches away with a dramatic motion, "Oh Bakugo, please. I would be insulted more if you didn't. I want to earn my win after all." I winked at him and he grunted in response. He got what he came for because he stood up to leave the room. Right before he walked out, I called to him, "Bakugo." He didn't turn around, but he stopped moving. "I seriously wouldn't underestimate Ochako. She'll take the win right from under you." He scoffed and left the room. I smiled knowing that Bakugo wouldn't underestimate anyone. He treated every opponent with cation. He was a survivor after all.

While I was in the waiting room, I heard Present Mic announce that Tokoyami had won his match against Yaoyorozu. I was honestly surprised. Yaoyorozu was ranked in the top three after all. She got in on recommendations. I made a note to ask Deku about the fight later. I clearly didn't know Tokoyami's full potential.

It was now my turn. I rolled my shoulders and stretched it out. As I mentioned before, there was always a fifteen-minute break in-between matches. The time flew by and I was beckoned to the field. I let my wings out in their full glory. I ruffled my feathers to get them loosened up and I walked out onto the field.

My nerves washed away, and I held my head high. The crowds were screaming my name. I looked at all the faces and smiled and waved to some of them. I sent winks and kisses to others. I was in the spotlight for once and it felt good. Some may have deemed it as show boating, but I knew that this was part of the hero game. It was a career and you needed fans to become number one. I might as well start early.

Karishma and I stepped onto the stage. He was smiling over at me, but then soon took a deep breath to get serious. His smile dropped and he bent his knees. We both held our breath as we waited for Present Mic to give us the queue to get started. He announcement for us was long and embellished. Something about me being the goddess of 1A and Karishma being hard as rock. Neither of us looked away from the other.

"BEGIN!" Present Mic shouted and we both snapped so fast.

I knew that Kirishima could win if I let him get too close to me. His grip was strong, and I wouldn't be able to break it easily. In that time, he could push me out of bounds, and it just wasn't worth the risk. Kirishima tried to dash towards me, but my wings took me into the air. I didn't know how high I could fly and still be considered inbounds, so I stayed just out of his reach.

I quickly summoned my bow and pointed it at him. He smirked up at me, overconfident that my arrows wouldn't pierce his skin. I had to show him just how wrong he was. There were some things that my classmates didn't know. One of those things was, how much I had been holding back with the power of Holy Light. I feared getting others hurt in the crossfire, but now it was just the two of us and it was my job to beat him and show off a bit while doing it. Kirishima stood firm and I let my power grow inside me. I pointed my bow just left of him aiming it into the ground.

As soon as I released the arrow there was a loud explosion. The sound of the rocks being crushed rang through the arena. Some people let out screams of surprise, while others threw their hands over their ears. Shoto rose from his chair with wide eyes and searched the dirt and debris trying to find me.

When the dust cleared Kirishima and I were in the same exact spots, except his eyes were wide and he was shaking slightly. The crowd let out a gasp at the major hole in the ground my arrow had created. It was as deep as two people and about 10 feet wide.

Kirishima's eyes found the hole and he yelled, "What the hell Marina? Are you trying to kill me?" He looked back up at me in awe.

I calmly spoke, "No." and pulled back for another arrow to appear. Kirishima's eyes tried to gauge where my next arrow was pointed but then my arrow turned into three arrows of light pointed a little bit in front of him, forcing him back. They wouldn't directly hit him, but he might get hit in the aftershock of it all.

He took off running while I released my barrage of arrows. They followed him as he moved around the arena but kept pushing him further away from me. Dust and debris flew everywhere. Some were having a hard time tracking us, but I barely moved. I had a good vantage point from my spot in the sky.

After the 19th arrow left my bow I was met with a loud announcement that brought a smile to my face, "Kirishima has stepped out of bounds. The winner is May!" Present Mic bellowed into the microphone.

I stopped firing as the crowed cheered. Some were screaming my name, others just screaming in general. While still in the sky I flew around and waved at people up close as the dust settled. Once everyone could see the ground again, I heard some shocked yelps. The stage was completely gone. Cement broken up into tiny pieces and massive holes littered the ground. I flew down to Kirishima and we shook hands over a good fight.

I knew he was disappointed, but he was a good sport about it. We all wanted to win, and I, at this moment, was stronger than him. He walked away to leave the arena and I went to follow, but then I remembered that I still currently had my wings, so instead of walking I just flew up to my classmates.

I landed on the guard rail facing my classmates. I was a little excited to see what they thought. I shouldn't have been as surprised to see Deku immediately in my face, eyes wide with excitement, "Marina! You never told us how powerful your Holy Light really was! That was amazing." I laughed and thanked him for the complements. "When you have more time, I really want to find out more, like, is your sword stronger than what we've seen? It's made from the same light right? Is a bow the best way to release that kind of power?" He had said later, but his pen stood ready to write down everything I said.

I was caught a little off guard, but I wasn't angry, just not in the right head space for a break down. Shoto read me so easily and shoed him and everyone who was listening away. He grabbed my arm lightly and pulled me away from the rest of students. We ended up in the hall and eventually in the stairwell that lead to the stands. Currently we were all alone, once again my pulse raced, but I didn't know what Shoto's intentions were.

"Marina, I had no idea you had that kind of power." I couldn't tell if he was hurt, so I just looked into his eyes trying to get a hint. It wasn't like I was keeping secrets; I had never really had the chance to show them until now. Shoto cut of the thoughts in my head with his next words. "You amaze me more and more every day were together." His fingers grazed my cheek as he looked over my face quizzically. His eyes made him look like he was trying to solve a math problem in his head.

His thumb found my bottom lip and brushed it across. The sensation sending shivers down my back. His hand eventually found my chin and lifted my head up to him. He leaned over me and pulled me into a kiss. Every kiss I had with Todoroki was different. He was someone who kept his emotions at bay, but as soon as he closed his eyes and touched you, everything he felt came through. This kiss was completely led by him. It was dominating and rough. He shoved his tongue into my mouth and pulled my chin hard to him. My wings wrapped around us, protecting us from the possibility of prying eyes.

We both knew our time was short before the next round, or before someone made their way up here. As much as we enjoyed each other right now, it didn't seem right to be caught in the act on such an important day. I mean, really any day at school would be embarrassing. Also, I refused to miss Ochako's fight. I really wanted her to kick ass and put Bakugo in his place. I broke the kiss from Shoto. He looked into my eyes, his gaze heavy with lust, but understanding. We just stayed like that for a few minutes, until break apart, and heading back hand and hand to the rest of the students.

Just before we walked out to go find our seats, I whispered into Shoto's ear, "That was the last time today, okay? We need to focus, and you are super distracting me." I pulled back and raised an eyebrow just waiting for his to fight me, but he smirked and nodded. Walking to our seats without me. I pouted over at him for being so damn cocky but followed him anyways. Taking the seat right next to him, I put my wings away and lacing my fingers through his waiting hand.

_**END**_

AN: So sorry about the long wait on this chapter. Adulting has been crazy, but I just wanted to thank you all for the support I've received. It truly means a lot. I will be better about my updates going forward. When you start writing something that follows a script you start to feel pigeonholed to stick to the original story. As this story continues you will start to see little breakaways from the original, so I get to really flex my creativity. Also, sorry if the extra PDA this chapter caught anyone off-guard. This will be a theme for me though. I love kisses and snuggles so my character will as well. I mean who would make out with Shoto at every opportunity? #guilty #ratedmformature

Thanks again everyone! Until next time.

Kaity-jane


	11. Chapter 11

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 11: It Comes to An End **_

The next fight was Ochako and Bakugo. This was one that we all had been morbidly curious for. Bakugo clearly had the advantage, but I knew that Ochako would not go down without a fight. She was stronger than most people gave her credit for.

Bakugo and Ochako made their way onto the field and I felt myself take a deep breath. Shoto looked over at me and saw the worried look on my face. He squeezed my hand that was still in his and looked back down at our classmates. Bakugo had his typical sneer on his face while Ochako had a look of determination. My girl was going to give it everything she had just like I had told Bakugo earlier.

Present Mic announced the start of their match and Ochako charged after Bakugo immediately. I let go of Shoto's hand and leaned forward in my seat. My hands going into fists as my eyes took in every movement of the two down below us.

I heard Deku yelp me, "All she has to is touch him one time, and this will be over."

I knew that he was indeed right, but Bakugo would not make is easy. Bakugo hadn't even flinched as Ochako charged him. He was analyzing her every move. She was starting to get in range of him, and Bakugo pulled his arm back for his typical right hook, but he knew that he couldn't let Ochako get close to him, let alone make contact. A bomb went off right in her face.

I felt a whimper leave my throat, but my eyes glared down in fury looking for the girl to rise from the ashes. She just had to, she couldn't go down that easily, she wouldn't. She confirmed my thoughts when she was left standing there, glaring over at Bakugo.

The rest of their fight was like this; Ochako making dashes to try and get Bakugo, and him sending explosions to keep her away. Ochako's moves were smart and precise, however, Bakugo was a wild animal when it came to fighting. He would twist and turn in a second and have an explosion waiting for her the next.

Explosion after explosion my stomach got tighter and tighter. I felt bile rising in the back on my throat from the anxiety. Bakugo was relentless and Ochako had a great disadvantage. I could hear my classmates echoing my anguish. Shoto had stayed silent the entire battle, his eyes flicking over at me ever couple seconds.

There was a moment where it looked like Ochako was going to make a comeback. Throughout the battle Ochako had touched boulders of rock that Bakugo had exploded from the floor. She touched them and sent them high into the sky. She then sent the rocks and boulders all at once flying down at Bakugo. That's why she kept attacking Bakugo through all his explosions, she needed to create a distraction. I too had been distracted and not noticed. It was a solid plan. The only problem, Bakugo. He set off a large explosion at the falling rocks. The shock wave sending Ochako flying back and to the ground. I could feel the heat on my face from the blast.

My heart tightened as she stood to meet Bakugo. Her legs were shaky, and her eyes glazed over, but she just couldn't give up. Bakugo smirked in excitement at the idea of the fight continuing. She had kept him on his toes after all. He charged after her but came to a halt with wide eyes. Ochako took a step forward and collapsed onto the ground. Tears started pouring form my eyes and my hand went up to my mouth, my fingers twisting around each other in anguish. This battle was over and Bakugo was the victor. They drug Ochako off in a stretcher, and that completed the first round of battles.

I looked over at Shoto and saw him staring back at me. I gave him a weak smile, "That was intense. I really thought that she might pull through at the end there."

"Bakugo is a strong opponent, that's for sure." He nodded back at me.

That's when I realized that Bakugo was my next fight. I felt my mind go into panic mode. I started realizing that this Sports Festival was far from over and I needed to start planning. Shoto felt the same. He and Deku were the next battle. Deku had already left and Shoto decided it was time for him to head to the training room.

Shoto stood up to leave and I grabbed his hand, "You got this Shoto." I smirked at him determinedly and he nodded at me again. Whenever it was time for a fight, Shoto would withdraw into himself for concentration. I didn't want to mess with his process, so I squeezed his hand one time, and he squeezed back, and I released him to go and prepare for his battle.

As Shoto walked out, Bakugo walked in. Sero started teasing him right away, "Hey, Bakugo! Playing the villain, huh? Must have been tough?"

Tsu jumped right in, "Even if it was just because who you were up against, you did make a pretty convincing bad guy."

Bakugo screamed at them, "Shut up you idiots. Or else!" His teeth grinding together.

Kaminari wanted to take a whack at him, "For real dude, I don't know how you were able to aim a powerful blast at a frail girl like that. I couldn't help but hold back against Shiozaki."

Everyone rolled their eyes, "She completely overpowered you, Kaminari." Tsu stated factually.

Bakugo looked away from them and down at me, "I definitely wouldn't call that girl 'frail'.

I couldn't help but smile up at him from his words. I called up to him, "Bakugo, good fight. That was pretty badass."

He smirked over at me, but there was a warmth in his eyes, "And your next pigeon."

I smirked back at him, patting the seat next to me, "Bring everything you got." Bakugo walked down to me and took the seat beside me.

We stayed like that, not saying anything to the other. I'm pretty sure he was also thinking about our fight and trying to come up with a strategy, but neither of our faces gave anything away. I was taken away from my thoughts when I saw the other space next to me get taken up by a body. It was Ochako. Her eyes were read and puffy, but she had a smile on her face.

"Hey Ochako, good job out there. You were truly amazing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time." I smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

"Thanks Marina." She stopped smiling and rubbed the back of her head, "I am pretty frustrated though." She made eye contact with Bakugo on my other side, "I actually thought I had you there for a second!" Bakugo clicked his tongue at her, but the warmth in his eyes was back. He wouldn't admit it, but she impressed him.

Our attention was drawn to the arena as flames burst from the newly remade stage. It was time for Shoto's and Deku's match. I felt my chest tighten again. The anxiety of today was going to kill me. I just knew it.

Present Mic screamed, "I can feel the anticipation in the stadium, and that's because the second round's first match is going to epic!" Shoto and Deku entered the arena and walked onto the stage. "It's the guy who won his last match by a landslide and left half the audience frozen, the hero course's Shoto Todoroki!" The crowd cheered. "And this kid almost walked out of his first matchup but made a stunning comeback by showing off some impressive moves. Also, from the hero course, Isuzu Midoriya!" The crowd cheering continued.

Shoto and Deku were now facing off against each other down below. Our classmates were making their own predictions about who they thought had the advantage, but I didn't listen to any of it. I was too busy staring down at the two of them. They were saying something to each other, but neither one smiled. I was cringing at what Shoto might be saying after his display to Deku this morning. He had come far today in opening up, but Shoto still was walking around with a chip on his shoulder toward the boy. Wounds like that don't heal in a day.

"These two heroes have been frontrunners in the Sports Festival! It's Midoriya versus Todoroki!" Present Mic announced while Deku and Shoto sized the other up from across the stage. "But which of these rivals will advance to the next round?" I sucked in a deep breath. "Begin!"

Shoto attacked immediately. He sent a wave of ice from his right foot out at Deku. Deku quickly reacted by breaking one of his fingers and sending a shock wave at the ice, causing it to shatter. The blast was enough to send the ice back at Shoto and the crowed behind him.

"Wow! Midoriya managed to break Todoroki's insane opening move!" Present Mic announced. At the same time, I heard Bakugo growl under his breath. I looked over at him and he was staring intensely down at the duo with his teeth grinded together.

Shoto didn't hesitate to send another wave of ice over at Deku. Deku broke another finger, repeating the same outcome as last time. Shoto glared over annoyed at the boy who was willing to hurt himself so much just to win. Deku glared back at him.

Shoto continued sending ice attacks at Deku, and Deku kept snapping his finger countering his moves. Shoto finally charged across the stage being propelled by his ice. He was clearly getting annoyed at the outcome of the match so far. Deku snapped his finger at Shoto, but he jumped above the shock wave caused by Deku's powerful quirk. Shoto smashed a ice filled punch down at Deku, but Deku jumped away just in time to dodge.

The punch may have not landed, but the ice followed Deku attempting to incase him. The icy grabbed hold of Deku's foot ready to finish the match, but Deku panicked. Instead of breaking a finger, he pulled back his arm and threw a full fledge punch at the ice. This shock wave caused debris to rise from the floor. Blocking the outcome from the punch from the audience.

When the dust cleared. Shoto was left standing. He had quickly made a wall of ice behind him to keep him from flying out of the ring. Deku had broken his left arm with that attack. He was panting across from where Shoto stood. Shoto had frost covering the right side of his body due to the overuse of his quirk.

He called out to Deku, "What? Are you that exhausted just from defending against my attacks?" His words and eyes were harsh, but I had a feeling there was more going on. Shoto kept talking to Deku, but it was too low for the crowd to hear. I felt my hand rise to my mouth, and I started biting the skin on my thumb. My anxiety was at it's peak. I wanted them both to walk away from this fight, but neither would give up unless they couldn't move.

Shoto sent another wave of ice at Deku, but once again he broke a finger to counter. This time however, there was more energy packed into it. Deku was giving it everything he could. Shoto was sent flying back and just barely caught himself with ice before flying out of the ring. Everyone from our class gasped at this. Deku was starting to make a comeback.

Deku and Shoto faced off against each other once again. Both their bodies trembling from the effort they were giving. Deku was saying something to Shoto, but once again we couldn't hear, until he eventually raised his voice at him, "Listen. We're all giving it our all to try and win. To make our dreams into a reality. To become number one. You think you can win with half your strength?" Deku's voice broke at the question, but he continued. "Look at me, Todoroki. You haven't managed to put a single scratch on me yet." Deku formed a fist and Shoto growled over at him. Deku screamed at him, "So come at me with all you've got!" I couldn't help it, I smiled.

"Midoriya? What are you trying to do here? You want my fire? What, did my monster of a dad bribe you or something?" Shoto's voice was shaking with fury. "Now I'm mad." He lunged forward at Deku. I once again raised my thumb up to my mouth and bit so hard I caused it to break open. Shoto was moving way slower than normal. He was reaching his limit too.

When Shoto got into Deku's reach, Deku turned the tables by smashing a fist into his stomach, broken fingers and all. Shoto didn't hesitate to freeze his other arm. The punch didn't have enough of Deku's quirk, Shoto was left standing and even started sending ice attacks at Deku. However, they were still too slow to get him.

The back and forth never seemed to end. Deku was down to no unbroken fingers, "Why are you putting yourself through this?" Shoto was angry, but there was also a sense of confusion to his voice.

"I wanna live up to people's expectations. I want to be able to smile while doing something good for them. I wanna be a pro! Whatever it takes to be a hero." Shoto was distracted by Deku's words and froze. Deku took the opening and head butted Shoto sending him flying back. "What's why I'll give it my all just like you should be!" Deku's voice got too quiet for the crowd to here and I felt my legs lift me up and to the railing. I leaned out as far as I could to try and hear what was being said. My heart was pounding in my chest. I could feel the turmoil rolling off Shoto and it broke my heart. "But you don't have the right to be number one if you aren't going to use your full power!" Deku screamed.

Todoroki's right side starting to freeze completely over. "Shut up!" He screamed at Deku. I felt the tears start rolling down my face as I stared down at the boy I loved. His heart was broken and all I wanted was to scoop him up and heal his wounds, but this fight wasn't over. Deku pulled back his arm and smashed Shoto in the stomach. Shoto flew back like a ragdoll.

Shoto landed in a squatting position. Deku screamed as he rose, "It's your quirk! Not his!" Tears were threatening to spill from his eyes. My knees grew weak and I fell back into my seat. Bakugo and Ochako both looked at me with concern, but neither said anything.

Shoto started to tremble, but then the most beautiful thing happened, fire engulfed his left side. The fire grew around him. I felt the heat dry the tears on my face and I smiled, I even laughed a little bit. Bakugo glared over at me with concern. Maybe I really was losing my mind. The fire melted away the ice that was on Shoto's right side and he grinned over at Deku.

"Yes Shoto! Have you finally accepted your purpose?" Endeavour bellowed from his spots in the stands, loud enough for all to hear. "That's it. Very good. This is the dawn of a new era for us. With my blood in your veins, you'll surpass me. You will live up to the reason I created you!" Once again, I felt my legs attempt to raise me from my seat to give Endeavour a piece of my mind, but Bakugo pulled me back down. I glared over at him, but he was looking down at Shoto with an intense stare.

Shoto, still covered in fire on his left arm, slammed his right foot down to create an ice way to send at Deku. Deku called forth his quirk in his leg to spring at Shoto. The teachers started to panic and stop the fight, but the boys didn't stop. They faced each other with everything they had in one big attack. Cementoss put multiple walls in between the two boys, but their attacks dissolved them instantly.

The shockwave was larger than any blast I've ever felt. Midnight flew back and all the audience started to scream and cover their faces from the wind and debris. Once the dust settled Deku was revealed to be out of bounds and Shoto the victor.

"Todoroki wins! He advances to the next round." Midnight screamed.

I stood from my chair and instantly made my way towards Shoto. I knew that I had my own fight to worry about, but I couldn't stop my body from moving. Bakugo didn't try to stop me either this time, but I did hear a growl escape from his lips. My legs took me to the other side of the arena quickly. My heart was pounding in my chest. I just needed to see Shoto and make sure he was okay. Just as I turned the corner to the tunnels entrance, I saw that Endeavor had already beaten me there. This time I was the one growling under my breath. The man must have been too excited from Shoto's victory because he didn't even notice me right behind him.

"What's the matter? Not gonna tell me to get lost?" Shoto was staring down Endeavor, but there was no hatred on his face. "You need to learn to control your left side. It's dangerous to release so much energy like that. But I'm glad you're finally seeing reason. Now that you've decided to abandon your childish rebellion, we can get back to what's important." Endeavor was smirking down at Shoto. "After graduation, you'll work by my side. I'll lead you down the path of the mighty, Shoto."

"I haven't abandoned anything." Shoto finally spoke up. Endeavor gasped in confusion. "You're a fool to think my feelings could be so easily reversed. Instead, out there, for that one moment, I forgot all about you." Shoto finally made his way around Endeavor, but continue speaking, "Whether that's good or bad, whether it's the right thing to do, I don't know." That's when he saw that I was standing there with tears in my eyes and a huge smile on my face. Shoto's eyes shined and he smiled back at me. "Maybe I don't need you." Were his final words to his father. He took my hand and we left Endeavor standing there. Neither of us caring enough to see his reaction.

With our fingers laced together we made our way back to the boy's locker room so Shoto could go and get another uniform. The right side of his uniform was destroyed after using his fire. His chest was completely exposed, and I was having an incredibly hard time not staring at him. He noticed and smirked over at me. "Too bad you made a rule about us taking the rest of the day seriously, huh?" Smirk didn't leave his face. I 'hmphed' at him and pushed him into the locker room to go and get dressed while I waited.

Shoto finished getting dressed and came out of the locker room. "Well, I guess I should go ahead and head to the waiting room. My fight's after Tokoyami and Mina's. No reason heading all the way back to the stands." My fingers twirled around my braid. Shoto nodded at me and we headed towards the waiting rooms. By the time we got there, Tokoyami and Mina's fight was wrapping up. According to the loudspeakers Tokoyami had won his match.

My stomach had butterflies, but I swallowed the lump in my throat. I pulled away from Shoto to walk into the room. Before I completely got away from his grasp, he pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. "Marina, you can do this. I want my last fight to be against you." He whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"And we'll give it everything we got, right?" I asked with my face pressed against his chest. I pulled away to see him nod with a smirk back at me. "Well then, how can I lose here?" I smirked back at him.

He finally released me, and I walked into the waiting room to get myself mentally prepared. I half expected Bakugo to be waiting in here for me again, but he wasn't. I was happy with the outcome, because it gave me room to think about my strategy. Bakugo was someone I needed to keep at a distance. He had already beaten me once in close combat, but things were different this time. Quirks were involved now. I too was strong in close combat with my sword and shield. I felt my head start to hurt as I felt my stress rising. Before I could put too much more thought into it, I was called to the stage. It was my time to fight Bakugo.

When I walked out of the tunnel I was greeted with screaming fans. The noise of the audience and Present Mic sounded so far away to me. The only thing that existed in the world right now was the man standing across the stage from me. Bakugo's gaze never left mine. We stared each other down. I was surprised to see that he wasn't glaring, but there was no other emotion on his face. I nodded at him and he nodded back. I let my wings release from my back. They spread out behind me as the wind blew my blonde braid around.

It all started so fast after that. We were given the green light to start and Bakugo quickly cleared the distance between us. I summoned my shield and his fist collided against it, followed by an explosion. The shock wave of it sent me sliding back, but not out of bounds. Bakugo already had another fist coming my way, but I took off into the air and dropped the shield towards him. He jumped out of the way, but the shield disappeared before it even hit the ground.

Bakugo growled in frustration and started blasting himself towards me in the sky. I knew my only chance against him was to keep my distance. We learned earlier that I could fly faster than him, but if I wanted to win at all, I would need to attack as well. This would cause my flying to slow down, so I needed to time it just right.

I flew up higher in the sky and saw that he was coming after me. Bakugo clearly had no fear of heights and trusted his quirk to catch his fall. I heard him shouting words of annoyance at me due to my dodgy antics, but I wasn't stupid enough to fight him hand to hand if I could avoid it.

Bakugo was now high in the sky with me, when I took a swan dive. I pulled my wings and dove quickly to the grown. Just before I hit the earth beneath me, I caught myself and summoned my Holy Bow. Bakugo was already on his way down towards me still screaming out curses, when I started firing arrows up at him. He used his hands to dodge them left to right. He was so quick! I realized that he was closing the distance between us, so I summoned a Holy Light barrier dome around me. Bakugo smacked landed into the top and started pounding his fists into it.

Like I've said before, my dome wouldn't be able to take his attacks for long, but it was a nice way to buy some time. Bakugo had been using his quirk now for awhile at a great rate, and he would have to use it even more to break my barrier. This would hopefully wear him out some but knowing Bakugo it would not be a lot.

I let my bow disappear and summoned a whip and shield. The whip had a beautiful gold and white engraved handled with the length being white. The shield was my traditional shield that I use with my sword. I always felt most confident with a sword, but Bakugo needed to be kept as far away from me as possible.

Bakugo blasted away my protective dome and dove at me, "Fucking finally! You stopped running away and are going to face me." He snarled.

Just as he was about to reach me, he noticed what was in my hand. I quickly let the length hit the ground and snapped the whip at him. He dodged away and sent an explosion at me from a distance. I used the shield to protect my face, but little bits of debris hit my legs that weren't behind protection.

Bakugo went to make a move again and I whipped him away. He growled in frustration, "Why won't you just fight me for real Pigeon?"

I didn't respond. I was never one to talk during a fight. I sent another lash his way, but he surprised me this time. He took the hit. The whip nailed him in the arm, splitting apart the skin, but Bakugo grabbed the end of the whip, and wrapped it around his arm. Before I could let go, he pulled me towards him. I ended up dropping the whip, but I was already in a forward stumble. My wings caught me from hitting the ground, but Bakugo took the opportunity to send a bigger explosion right into me. I tried to pull the shield up to protect my face, but it was too late.

I heard the crowd scream as I was sent flying back. My wings couldn't catch me this time and I hit the ground hard. I heard one of my wings crack and I knew they would be useless the rest of the fight. Bakugo didn't give me a chance to catch my breath. He was charging my position on the ground.

I ignored the pain in my back and rolled myself backwards to get up onto my feet. It was now time for Bakugo and I to face off in hand to hand. He was going to be using his explosions and I was going to try and find an opening.

Bakugo threw some explosions my way and I dodged right and left. We were so close now that he would have to hit me directly to make any real impact, and that's exactly what Bakugo tried to do. He sent an explosion at me with his left hand causing me to dodge right, but his fist was waiting for me. As I saw it coming towards my face, instinct completely took over. I summoned a dagger into my left hand and aimed it for his arm. The bright light forming in my hand caused him to pull back, but not quickly enough. My right fist was right behind the dagger, and maybe it was the stars in Bakugo's eyes from the light of my summons, but my fist contacted his jaw. I wasn't as strong as some of the boys in our class, but I sure as fuck wasn't weak. Bakugo was sent backwards into the ground this time.

Here's the thing about using swords and daggers against classmates, you can't really stab your classmate with them, so they're used more as a defensive tool. With this in mind, I simply let go of the dagger and jumped onto Bakugo, before he could stand up. I threw a couple punches at his face, but he covered his head by crossing his arms, so my fists never made good contact. Now I let out a growl of annoyance, and it sparked something in Bakugo's eyes. I fire that I hadn't seen during the whole fight was burning. Bakugo stopped protecting his face and took a hit from my left fist but grabbed my right one. Even with him being pinned he was smart enough to take the hit from my weaker side.

With my hand in his, he pointed his other hand at my face. With a wicked smirk he uttered one word, "boom." I froze knowing exactly what was about to come. I was blasted away from him.

That was the last thing I remembered from our fight. When I finally came to, I was in the nurses office with Recovery Girl. The first thing I uttered from my mouth was, "Mother fucker." It didn't take long for me to realize that I had lost. I already felt the tears start to pour from my eyes, but I grinded my teeth together to try and keep my emotions in check.

"Now watch that mouth! A young lady like you has no reason to be speaking such vulgarly." I looked across the room to see Recovery Girl making her way over towards me. "Ms. May, you fought hard and bravely. You have a lot to be proud of, so don't beat yourself up, okay?" Her hand struck the top of my head causing me to wince and nod at her. "Good, now for your condition. You had a broken wing, a couple of broken ribs, burns to the left side of your face, and damaged caused to your left eye." My breathing stopped and I instantly started to touch my face and try to access the damaged. "Don't worry. I took care of all the big breaks; you'll just need to use your quirk to heal some of the burns."

"Is the sports festival over?" I asked while already summoning my Holy Light to finish the healing process. The warmness took away some of the anguish that was in my heart.

"Almost, the last fight has already begun."

"It's Shoto and Bakugo isn't it?"

"It is indeed." I threw the blankets off my body but before I could leave the room Recovery Girl cut me off, "Just so you know, getting the Todoroki boy out of your room to go and finish his fights was nearly impossible. Everyone from your class was outside trying to get in as well. We all agreed that you would be more upset if you had known that he gave it up just to be beside you."

"Damn fucking straight." I smiled as I jogged out of the room.

"What did I say about that mouth!" I heard Recovery Girl yell at me from a distance.

By the time I made it to the observation area for our class the fight was well underway. Ice already covered the arena and Shoto. Our class was too enthralled with the spectacle of their battle that they didn't even notice my arrival. Without hesitation I ran up to the guard rail to look down at the battle. A couple of the other students noticed me at this point, but I didn't pay them any mind. I was trying to see what was happening down below.

Shoto had Bakugo right where he wanted him. All he had to do was use his fire on Bakugo, but he didn't, and he just threw him away from him. Bakugo easily came to a sliding stop seeing as there was no power behind the throw.

"Stop screwing around." Bakugo was glaring over at Shoto. "What? Do you think I'm not worthy of your fire?"

"Bakugo timed his explosions and grabbed Todoroki's left side on purpose. He's done his research. His aptitude for this becomes more apparent with every fight." Aizawa spoke from the announcer's box. I couldn't bring myself to look away from the boys down below. "Todoroki's doing well so far, but his attacks are too simple. It's almost seems like he lost his spark after watching Marina May get defeated." I felt my cheeks heat up as some of the audience started to mumble amongst themselves, but I pushed down the embarrassment.

"You Bastard! I'll tell you what'll happen if you make a fool outta me. I'll kill you and then I'll steal your girl! Even she put up a better fight than this!" Bakugo growled and Shoto looked shaken. This was when I realized that maybe my wounds looked worse than I thought. Something had scared Shoto. "I don't want there to be any doubts that I'm the best student at the festival. That's only possible if you come at me as hard as you can! There's no point if you don't fight me with the same power you used against Deku. If you don't wanna win this, why are you even here?" Bakugo charged Shoto. "Show everyone you're trying to destroy me!"

Shoto just stood there not making a move. I felt my chest tighten and suddenly I was screaming at Shoto, "Come on Shoto! Don't give up! Do you're best to win this! If not for yourself, do it for me!" Tears were in my eyes. If I didn't take home first place, I would want no one other than Shoto too.

Bakugo stopped charging and looked up at me. Shoto's eyes snapped up to me on the balcony. I didn't want to distract them, but so much emotion came over me. I saw a huge smile come to Bakugo's face. For all he was, he wasn't someone who wanted me to keel over after our fight. Shoto looked awestruck when he saw me standing there completely healed. My hair was now free from its braid and I had bandages on my cheek, but I was alright and cheering him on from the stands. A new fire was lit under Shoto and soon his left side was covered in flames.

Bakugo smirked and propelled himself forward at Shoto like a human missile. He blew up right in his face. The explosion was huge and left all of us to wonder what the outcome was. I felt my eyes looking all around the arena trying to spot Shoto amongst the carnage. When the explosion died down it was revealed that Shoto was sent flying back into his ice and was knocked out cold.

"Todoroki is out of bounds, that means Bakugo is the winner!" Midnight screamed. I felt my knees collapse just as Bakugo's did right in front of Shoto. This was the end of the Sports Festival and neither Shoto nor I had won.

They gave us a little break before they would conduct the awards ceremony. Shoto and Bakugo were both drug off to recovery girl and my classmates had attacked me with words of encouragement on my fight. I thanked them, but there was one person I really wanted to see, and as if she had read my mind, I was greeted by a security guard and a blue and black-haired girl.

"Marina!" She screamed as she charged me and tackled me into a hug.

I laughed and hugged her back, "Nova! How did you get into the student's section?"

"Oh, you know how persuasive I can be." She winked at the security guard who still looked like he was in a daze. Taking her attention off him she looked back at me, "I just needed to check up on you. I was trying to get into the recovery room, but they wouldn't let me in since I'm not a student. Luckily All Might saw my struggle and went in to check on you and delivered me a full report. He's not nearly as annoying as I thought he would be." I heard my classmates gasp, but Nova just stuck her tongue out, but then smiled jokingly at them.

"Oh, where are my manors. Everyone, this is Nova. She's my best friend from America." All my classmates surrounded us and started to ask questions.

"Wow now everyone." She waved them off. "Look I really want to get to know all of you, but I'm pretty sure that nice guard over there is going to drag me back to the spectator stands. Tell you what, Class 1A, you all are invited to Marina's apartment tomorrow night for a congratulations party. Come have fun with us girls, American style."

"Nova! You could have at least given me a heads up!" I sweat dropped.

"Oh whatever, you used to pull that shit on me all the time. Pay back is a bitch. Plus, I'm only here for the weekend and I want to get to know everyone. Please Marina?" She pouted.

"Yeah Marina, Please?" Kaminari begged

"Don't be a stick in the mud!" Mineta yelled as he looked Nova up and down.

I rolled my eyes, "Fiiiine, but you all better not get me kicked out."

Everyone cheered as Nova was drug off by the recovered guard, "Bye babe! I'll meet you at home. I got to get started planning after all."

With that Nova was gone and we were told to make our way down to the stage to start the awards ceremony. I still hadn't seen Shoto or Bakugo and I was starting to get nervous, but with the start of the ceremony they were bound to show up. I pouted slightly at the idea, but what are you going to do?

The students gathered on the lawn in front of Midnight yet again. "The first-year students have completed all of the events for the UA Sports Festival. Now it's time to relax and enjoy the awards ceremony." Midnight shouted as fireworks started to shoot up into the air.

A stage started to rise from the ground with smoke and confetti cannons. It was the winner podium. Tokoyami was standing on the 3rd place spot, Shoto was on the 2nd, and Bakugo was tied up to a pole on the 1st place sport. He was screaming, but you could barely hear him due to the muzzle that was on his mouth. All the classmates sweat dropped at the sight before them.

Midnight followed up with, "Tenya Iida actually shared the 3rd place award with Tokoyami. But, unfortunately, he had to leave for family reasons. Gotta love those familial bonds." She winked to the crowd. This caused everyone to start questioning if he was okay. I looked over at Deku's face and he looked absolutely crushed. It wasn't my business to pry, but I could tell something happened.

I wanted to get Shoto's attention, but the boy was just staring at the ground with a blank expression. Midnight called All Might to the podium to deliver the metals to the boys. He hugged each boy and gave them words of encouragement as he placed the medals around their necks. Shoto and All Might shared some quiet words back and forth and from the look on Shoto's face, they were very much needed. Bakugo was all that was left. They took his muzzle off to give him his award, but he refused to put it on as he screamed in defiance. All Might just laughed at his antics and put the medal in his mouth.

All Might turned to us remaining students, "Here they are! The winners of this year's sports festival!" The crowd roared. "But listen closely. Any of you first years could have ended up standing on these podiums. Think about what you've done today. You've challenged each other, learned, and climbed even closer toward your goals of being pros. I think the next generation of heroes is proving to be our most promising one yet!" All Might pointed to the sky. "So, I have one more thing to say. I want to hear everyone yell it with me. You know what it is." I felt my heart fill with pride.

"Plus Ultra!" yelled everyone except All Might. All Might yelled something completely different killing everyone's mood. Boos flowed from the audience, but I just laughed with a big smile on my face.

After that we were instructed to head to our classroom to finish up the longest Friday of my life. As the students started to head that way, I waited for Shoto to come to me, but he just kept staring at the ground. I, finally having enough of his weirdness, stomped up to him.

"Shoto, what is going on?' I put my hand on my hips to show my annoyance.

"I'm sorry Marina." He kept looking at the ground.

"What the hell are you sorry for?" I was seriously confused.

"I didn't win the Sports Festival." He pouted.

I stared at him blankly and then stared laughing at him. I closed the distance between us and ruffled his hair. He finally looked up at me to see the big smile on my face, "I didn't win either dork."

"But you said to win for you."

"I also said I was going to win for myself, sadly Bakugo kicked my ass and got you too." Shoto glared at this comment. "But we'll get him next year, right?"

He smirked, "Definitely." With that we hugged it out and I told him how impressed I was. We walked towards the classroom to meet with everybody else, our fingers laced together.

"Oh, by the way Shoto, apparently there's a party at my house tomorrow night per Nova's orders. You better come, it's to celebrate the Sports Festival."

He squeezed my hand in his, "I'd love to. Any excuse to get out of the house. I can't imagine that my dad is going to be enjoyable this weekend."

"Cool. You can crash at my place after to extra avoid him if you want." I didn't think about my words or what they implied, but I started to realize what I said as Shoto's face turned red. Neither of us said anything as we finished the journey to the classroom, separating our hands only as we took our seats.

Aizawa told us that we would have the next two days off to recover from the Sports Festival. In that time, we would need to think about what was next for us soon to be heroes. We were all being scouted during the Sports Festival and soon we would know who we impressed. Aizawa then dismissed us for the weekend.

Just before anyone could make it out of the door, I spoke up, "Hey Everyone!" Everyone looked over at me. "There's going to be a party at my house tomorrow night to celebrate the sports festival. I would love to see you all there!" There were cheers and murmurs of excitement for the first party of our new school year. I was kind of glad Nova came up with the idea. It would be nice to be an average kid for once.

It was weird. I had all these fears before the Sports Festival. Fears of what would happen once my mom realized where I was. Now that it was all over, the fears were gone. I was surrounded by classmates and teachers who cared for me and wanted to see me succeed. Also, there was a part of me that wondered if she knew I was here the whole time. She, just waiting to make her move. Let her come. I wasn't going to go anywhere. I was finally happy, and she wasn't going to stop me this time.

_**END**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Holy Knight**

_**Chapter 12: When the Day Begins **_

Saturday morning, I woke up with every muscle in my body hurting. Yesterday was harder on my body than I had expected. It was draining in more ways than one. The physical demand of yesterday was expected, but the emotional cost was more than I anticipated. So many things had happened. All the student's emotions were on a hundred. There were fights amongst classmates, as well as make ups. I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Shoto about it, but I feel him and Deku had grown closer. With the start of the day yesterday, his declaration of war, I was pleasantly surprised. I wanted desperately for Shoto to start forming more friendships with our classmates. He was an amazing friend and deserved to have loads of them. That's why I decided to let this party at my place happen. It would help us wash the stress of yesterday away and just be kids for a bit. I mean, we've already had to fight villains this school year, so I think a little fun should be allowed.

With my mind on the party now, I woke up with a loud grown. It was time to throw myself out of bed and get everything together. Nova said she had it, and I know girl could throw a party, but I honestly wanted to spend as much time with her as I possibly could. As soon as I woke up, I had noticed her weight not next to mine, and I had already gotten the pain in my heart of her absence. Pathetic, a little, but she was my family and I missed living with someone. I threw the sheets off my body and stumbled out of the bed. When I finally got my balance, I stretched my hands up to the sky and heard my shoulders pop. Letting out a small yawn, I walked out of my bedroom door to hunt down Nova and see what we needed to get done before the party tonight.

The living room was already full of life, which was a refreshing change. The tv was on the local news, which had been replaying footage of the Sports Festival all day. They were comparing different students and different quirks and rating who they thought had the most hero potential. They focused more on the older students, like 2A and 3A, but every now and then some from our class were mentioned. I tried to not pay too much attention to it all, but I found myself smiling fondly whenever I recognized the name. Funnily enough, the media hated Bakugo, but knew they couldn't deny his talents. He had won after all.

The smell of coffee brewing pulled me away from the television screen and into the kitchen where a humming Nova has made quite the mess. All my cupboards were open, contents removed, and placed on the counter. My fridge had also been ransacked of its few contents.

With a light chuckle in my voice I finally greeted Nova, "Um, babe… are you looking for something?"

Nova jumped and turned around to look at me sheepishly, "Good morning Mari! Sorry about the mess, but I needed to see what you had before we go shopping for the party." She grabbed a coffee mug from the counter, filled it, and then handed it back to me. I kept staring at her and she motioned for me to take a drink before she would continue. With a sigh and roll of my eyes, I took a sip. "Okay! Now that you have your coffee it's time to get down to business. What the hell Mari? You have no food. You only have enough dishes for one person. This home has no personal touches at all." She motioned around my very plain living room with her arms, causing me to really soak in the atmosphere of my apartment. It had just dawn on me that everything in my place was white, and light grey. "Babe, no wonder you're so homesick. You would never live like this back in the states. You need color! You love art! For god sakes Mari, you don't even have books, and you love to read. You can't just go to school, where you risk your life on the daily..," I went to interrupt here about how that was a little over dramatic, but she put her finger in the air to stop me, ".. and come home and not live."

I sighed, "Look I know. I've just been so busy, and honestly school is my number one focus. I have to give it my everything. UA is not a school where I can slack off by not taking it seriously."

Nova smiled lovingly at me, "Mari, you're in a country with no one to take care of you. All you classmates have parents to make sure they eat and get a proper amount of sleep, you don't. I have to fly back tomorrow, and I need to know that you'll be okay. You can't fight villains and shit if you aren't healthy and in a good place mentally." She walked up to me and placed her glove hand on my shoulder. "Look I love you more than anything, and I'm only saying all this because I know Japan is your home now. We just need to make it look like it, ya know?" Her smile remained and I couldn't stop the giant smile that came to my face. Nova released my shoulder and walked back into the mess that was my kitchen. "So, with all this in mind, I stole your phone this morning and texted a few reinforcements to help us go shopping today."

Before I could process what, she had said, there was a knock on the door. My eyes flicked to the door, back to Nova, and then down at the mess I still very much was from yesterday's sports festival. "Nova…. who the hell is outside my door and why would you not wake me up to get ready." My cheeks were pink from frustration and my mind was going a million miles a minute.

"Don't worry babe, I'll entertain why you go get ready." She grabbed my arm and drug me into the bathroom. She shut the door in my face before I could even say anything.

This was typical Nova, and I missed it greatly. She was so independent and fearless. She was going to hang out with my new friends without me being the middleman, and that's exactly how she wanted it. I smiled with a huff and decided to just go with it and get ready. I turned on the shower and while it was heating up, I tried to eavesdrop through the door to find out who was in my apartment, but it was impossible to hear anything over the shower and fan in the bathroom. I took a longer than normal shower to hopefully get back at Nova just a little bit. I knew deep down that she wasn't likely struggling and probably didn't feel any awkwardness around everyone, but I was still being low key petty. All my get ready gear was in the bathroom so I just finished the whole process of putting on make-up and curling my hair.

When I was all done, I winked at a beautiful me in the mirror. I had a nervous but excited energy about today. The sun was shining and most of the people I cared about were here. What more could a girl ask for? I threw on my silk white and gold bathrobe and braced myself for whoever was on the other side of the door.

As I pushed the door to the bathroom open, my ears were filled with laughter and Nova's voice telling a story about something stupid I once did at home, she cut herself off and said, "Oh speak of the devil, looks like she's almost ready to go."

My living room was fuller than I expected. Shoto and Deku were sitting with Nova on the couch, both with matching blushes on their faces due to the low-cut bathrobe I currently had on. Ochako was waving up at me from the chair she currently sat in, tears in her eyes and a big smile on her face. She had clearly been laughing at whatever story Nova was sharing, which made me suspicious. My eyes than caught a flash of pink bouncing up to me.

It was Mina in all her glory, "Marina! Thanks for inviting me out with you guys to go shopping. I'm so excited to get to know you more and spend some money in the process." Her arms flew around my waist and she hugged me from the side.

I heard a bang from behind the kitchen counter. I then saw the top of a floating sweater dress peek up from the ground, "I'm here too Marina, hope that's okay. I heard shopping and came right over with Mina." Toru Hagakure walked out from the kitchen to join everyone else in the living room.

Mina released me from her grasp, and I smiled out to everyone in the room, "Thanks for coming everyone! I'm excited too. Let me just go put some clothes on and we can get the adventure started."

I quickly made my way into my room. Everyone was waiting on me to go, so I didn't put a ton of thought into my outfit. I threw on a pair or ripped up light blue jeans and a off the shoulder white sweater. Something comfy and cute. I would get into something spicier for the party, but for shopping it was all about comfort. I grabbed my white vans to put on at the door.

As I walked out into the living room, everyone was up and talking about all the things we needed to get for my home to make it more alive and all the things for the party tonight. Nova had Deku attached to her hip, writing down everything into a list. I heard some words like, white fuzzy rug, fairy lights, and plants. I was excited for her vision. She new me very well, so I wasn't stressed out. All three girls were giving their input as well and Nova nodded and smiled. The energy was infectious, and my smile couldn't be any brighter.

Shoto finally found his opening to come up and great me semi-privately. "Hi Marina." He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the top of my head. I nuzzled my head into his chest, loving the contact. When he pulled away from me, I instantly noticed something was off. He looked tired and worn out. His smile felt forced and he had circles under his eyes.

"Nova, I need Shoto's help to find something in my room. We'll be right back." I grabbed his arm and pulled him into my room. Just before I shut the door, I heard Mina making suggestive noises and Nova yell, "We're leaving in 5 minutes so no funny business."

Shoto looked at me confused with his white eyebrow raised. He wasn't expecting my next words, "Are you okay?" My eyes looked him over with worry and concern, head to toe, and back up again.

My hands reached out to do their inspection, but Shoto grabbed them and lace his finger through mine. "Marina, I'm fine. Just had a long night of training with my dad." He brought my hand up to the left side of his face. He leaned into my palm and closed his eyes, enjoying the comfort I provided. His check was blazing hot, and if it was anyone else, I would have been very concerned.

"Shoto, if you want to stay here and sleep while we're out, it's okay. I don't want you to wear yourself out." I felt myself want to start bitching about Endeavor putting Shoto through this, but my rage for the man was a can of worms that Shoto didn't need to deal with today.

"No. I want to come Marina." He opened his eyes and looked directly into mine. "My Dad is out of town for the rest of the weekend doing hero work anyways. It's one of the reasons we trained all last night. It was his only chance before school Monday. My sister is looking after me and she knows I'm staying at friends house tonight."

I smiled coyly at him, "And she's okay with you staying at a friends house?"

He raised an eyebrow at me again, "Yes she was actually really excited for me."

I laughed, "Did you tell her that your friend is a girl by chance?"

He stepped back a little confused, "No? Does it make a difference? Should I have told her that?"

He reached out to grab his phone to probably update his sister, but I grabbed his hands again before he could, "Nope! You're totally fine Shoto. Doesn't make a difference, they'll be guys here anyways too. If you must, tell her tomorrow." He nodded down at me while I nervously laughed. Shoto may be starting to be confident in our relationship, but he was still so pure. I seriously loved it.

"Marina. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about…." His voice sounded small and unsure. I pulled my head back to get a read on his face, but he pulled me tight against his chest. He finally continued, "I've made the decision to go and see my mom tomorrow."

"How long has it been since you've seen her?" I asked quietly.

"Years." There was a little break in his voice. I held on to him tighter.

"Do you need me to go with you Shoto? I can only imagine how nervous you are."

I felt him shake his head. "I'll be okay." He paused slightly as if debating his next thought. "But Marina, I really do want you to meet her. Maybe you can come with me next time?" He finally let me pull away from him to look into his eyes. Tears came to the corner of my eyes. With a bright smaller, pushing back the tears, I nodded enthusiastically at him, confirming that I would indeed love to meet his mom.

With the fuzzy feeling in my heart I surprised him with a kiss. It was small and sweet, but very much needed for the both of us. As soon as I pulled away from him, I went to say something, but was cut off by Nova throwing the door open. Shoto had his arms around my waist and I had mine around his neck. "Okay cool kids, times up. We got some shopping to do!"

Shoto and I pulled apart from each other. He had a light blush on his cheeks, but I was used to Nova's antics. I laughed it off and looped my arms though hers, "Okay, babe. Where too first?"

The rest of the afternoon flew by. All of us went to some local thrift shops around town. Shoto was amazed that a place like this existed. His sheltered life made the rest of us 'less fortunate' kids laugh at him teasingly. I guess technically my family was well off, but my father never let me live outside of a normal person's means. He said that we needed to be grounded and remember that not everyone is as blessed like we have been. Nova had kept true to her word. All of us girls bought so much for my apartment that we had to have it delivered. It was a slow day for the thrift shop, so they delivered it same day for us.

As Nova and I met the delivery men at my place, everyone else went to the grocery store and bought snacks, drinks, and even a few games for the party tonight. Nova had given Shoto another grocery list to fill my fridge with real food so that I could actually cook and not eat out every day this week. He nodded and promised that he'd make sure I go grocery shopping at least once a week after she left. This warmed Nova to the core and finally made her start to see what the big deal was with Shoto. He was cold and aloof, until you really got to see him. He was a great personal and a great friend. Everyone Nova had met from UA was.

While the delivery men set up the new furnishings around the house, going well above their job role, Nova kept sneaking glances at me. I finally cracked, "What are you looking at crazy?"

"This life that you're starting here is so beautiful, and I am so happy for you." Tears started to fall from her eyes and I felt myself make my way over to her. "but I'm also sad because now that I've been here and see it, I know I'm never getting you back, am I?" Her words hit me. No. I wasn't planning on going back to America. Clearly not during high school, but even after that. All the futures I had envisioned didn't take place in America. Tears started to fall from my eyes as well and I think that was all the answer Nova needed. She wrapped her arms around me, and we stayed embraced just letting the tears fall silently.

That's when everyone got back from grocery shopping. Deku was the first one in the door with everyone right behind him. They were making small talk until Deku caught sight of us crying while hugging it out. "Marina! Nova! Are you guys okay? Did something happen?" Deku shrieked in a panic.

Nova laughed at him, finally letting me go, "No no. We're fine. I'm just being dumb about leaving tomorrow. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm very jealous of all of you."

"Why is that Nova?" Ochako asked setting the groceries down on the counter.

"Because Marina is here, and you all are just so amazing!" She walked up to Ochako and pulled her into a side hug. Everyone just started to laugh and talk with each other as they started to get things ready for the party.

I was still a million miles away. This was the first time I realized that I didn't want to return home. I didn't want to go back to my old life. I may have been alone at the start of my journey here in Japan, but I wasn't anymore. I had friends who would drop their plans to come and hang out with me on a Saturday to furnish my house. I don't think any of my friend back home, besides Nova, would care that much. This then started me down the mental track, well if I don't want to go back home, what do I do with my dad's house and all of our things. My heart started to race at the idea of packing everything up and selling it off, but why keep a place that you can't bring yourself to go back to. Dread started to fill my body, but I was shaken from the dark thoughts by a hand touching my shoulder.

Shoto looked back at me concerningly and I just kind of word vomited, "When the time is right, will you come to America with me to pack up my dad's house?" I said it quietly enough that I didn't break the chatter of the other teenagers, but Nova heard me, and she completely froze at the words. She knew what it meant to me and it broke her heart to know that I was thinking about this right now.

Shoto's answer was simple and to the point, "Whatever you need." And that was it. He got distracted by the movers who needed someone to sign all the paperwork. He left to take care of it. Nova and I looked at each other and she smiled and nodded. That would be the last we talked about any of that today.

That's when I decided to wipe my tears and get on with the best part of the day," Hey everyone. I just really wanted to thank you all again for coming over and to show my appreciation I'll make us some food!" Everyone thanked me and I quickly made work of the groceries that had been delivered.

After that there wasn't much to get done, the house was now fully stocked and ready for the part, so everyone went home to change and get ready for tonight. It was just Nova and I in my beautifully decorated home. Nova had kept true to her vision. There was now a white faux fur rug under a grey marbled coffee table in front of my couch. Fairy light draped around the living room giving off a warm glow. Abstract works of art gave my light grey walls a nice pop of color. Multiple plants could be found around the house. Lastly, there was a big white bookcase full of books on some rows, and pictures of friends and family from home. Nova had also added a few empty picture frames for me to fill up with my new classmates. I was so happy with the outcome, words couldn't explain the difference in the atmosphere.

Nova was dressed and ready for the party, so she started preparing the snacks and placing an order for the pizza. I took this as my queue to go and get something a little more flashy on. The dress I had chosen for the night was a short, white, and fully laced. It had a deep neckline that showed off my assets well. We didn't get a lot of opportunity to look cute around each other, so I decided to take full advantage tonight. I did my look over in the mirror and was fully satisfied. I wouldn't be able to let my wings out tonight, but with guests around, it probably wasn't the best idea anyways.

I was leaving the bedroom, when I was surprised by a knock at the door. I assumed it was Shoto, seeing as he lived close, but was surprised when I answered the door. Bakugo was standing in my doorway, roughly 30 minutes early for the party. I was taken aback by not only his appearance at my party, or the fact that he was here early, but also the fact that he looked amazing. Grey henley with ripped up black jeans. My eyes wanted to wonder, but I checked them immediately. This didn't stop the blush from coming to my checks as I sporadically ushered Bakugo out of the door and into my house.

"Bakugo! Welcome to my house. Make yourself comfortable." I laughed nervously out of character for me.

Bakugo noticed immediately, "What's going on with you Pigeon?" He threw himself down on my couch, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "What's got you so nervous?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow at me, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh nothing," I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. Nova was enjoying watching my suffering from the kitchen. She had given Bakugo a wave as he came in and he nodded to her in greeting. I sat down next to Bakugo on the couch dramatically and just word vomited. "Okay, honestly. I'm surprised you came! You always act too cool for us, and you're early! You always surprise me Bakugo." I laughed away any more awkwardness I had been feeling.

Bakugo, however, was grumpy as always, "Psh whatever Pigeon. I thought you wanted me here, it's fine. I'll leave."

Bakugo went to stomp off in a huff, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to the couch, "Oh shut up. I'm just teasing you Bakugo. I'm actually really excited you are here. I feel we had a rough start when we first met, but I would love for us to be friends." I smiled at him sincerely.

Bakugo, realizing that I was still holding on to his arm, ripped it away from my grasp. He looked away from me, hiding a blush on his face. "Yeah, I felt the same way. That's why I came here early. I wanted to talk to you without all the extras around." He looked around the apartment for a minute before commenting. "I'm actually surprised that the half-and-half bastard isn't here."

I lightly smack his arm, "First off, don't call him that." I gave him a pointed, yet not surprised look. "Also, they're not extras Bakugo. I like to think that everyone is the main character to their own story, ya know?"

He huffed, "Yeah maybe, but their's are fucking boring compared to what mine's going to be." I couldn't stop myself from laughing at his comment. He was so determined; it was rather endearing.

"You know Bakugo, don't tell anyone this, but I could believe that." I looked away from him letting my mind wonder as I stared at the endless clips of the sports festival.

Bakugo stared hard into the side of my head. I missed the intense look, but I was taken from my thoughts by his response, "Your story might not suck either Marina."

"Ah, thank you Katsuki." I patted his arm, jokingly calling him by his first name, seeing as he had used mine for the first time. When he didn't reject me using it, I got a small smile on my face. Standing up from the coach I called back to him, "I'm going to go help Nova finish things up in the kitchen." I turned on dance music to start setting the atmosphere for the party.

Bakugo surprised me by stating, "Tell me if you need any help." While looking at his phone. His eyes only flicking to me at the end. I shook my head, and his eyes went back down.

I walked into the kitchen were Nova was arranging fruit on a tray. She didn't bother to look up at me, but said in a low voice, "The fuck was that?"

I was surprised by the question, "What are you talking about?"

"The boy is clearly into you."

I scoffed at her, "Um, no. He's only into himself."

She side eyed me, "Bitch, don't be dumb. If you don't want him to get the wrong idea, you're going to need to say something, because he has been staring at you this whole time we've been talking."

I coyly looked over at him quickly and saw that he was still looking down at his phone. "Wrong again genius," I rolled my eyes at her.

"Sure. Don't listen to the girl who can feel people's emotions just by touching them."

"Bet. Touch him without it seeming weird and tell me what you feel. I'll believe it then." I crossed my arms challengingly at her.

"Fine. But then you need to have a conversation with him, because I know how you feel about Shoto." She reached above the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. She filled both to the rim, and slide it over to me, before continuing her thought. "But I also know how turned on you get by boys that are bad for you. And trust me girl, _Katsuki_ is bad for you." She said his first name mockingly in my higher pitched voice.

"Deal." I said knowing she was way off base with this one. We knocked our shot glasses together and downed the liquid. "It's going to be an interesting night for sure." She smiled knowingly at me.

My apartment filled up fast as a wave of Class 1A students started to show up. Everyone from class decided to come out. Iida being the only exception. Whatever was happening with his family was far more important than my stupid house party, so I completely understood. While we were at the thrift store Nova had made the smart decision of buying multiple party games. She bought giant Jenga, twister, and various card games. Everyone was mingling with each other while playing various games, and the music was loud enough to cover up any awkwardness. I made sure to do my host duties of talking to everyone who made it. I thanked them for coming and bantered a little before moving on to the next group. I was a little tipsy from shooting back shots with Nova before everyone arrived. This crowd wasn't really the drinking type, but I left the bottle on the counter just in case anyone was curious. We didn't need to make a whole thing out of it.

I looked around at all the faces and made a note that Shoto had still not returned from our shopping adventure. I had a small pit in my stomach, but I couldn't dwell on it. I had a shit ton of people with various quirks in my house. My hands were a little full trying to make sure none of my shit got broken and making sure a nosey Mineta stayed out of my room. I sent Shoto a little text message just checking in but was distracted right after hitting the send button.

I saw my bedroom door open slightly in the crowd of people, I summoned a barrier in the doorway before Mineta could sneak in, "God dammit Mineta, stay out of the bedroom!" I yelled while stomping up to him. Mineta got too excited by the now open door, and smacked face first into my barrier. He had blood running from his nose and tears in his eyes as I kicked him away from the entrance and closed the bedroom door.

Kaminari laughed from his spot on the couch, "Come on Mineta. You shouldn't have to sneak into a girl's room."

"Yeah Mineta, very unmanly of you." Kirishima stated while nodded in agreement with Kaminari.

Bakugo came out of nowhere and grabbed Mineta by the collar of his shirt, "Do it again and I'll destroy you." Bakugo then tossed him across the room.

Everyone around sweat-dropped at Bakugo's reaction except me, "That's right Mineta!" I laced my arm through Bakugo's and taunted Mineta, "Fuck with my shit, and Katsuki will end you." Mineta pleaded for forgiveness and I laughed evilly. While I was teasing Mineta, it did go unnoticed by my classmates that I had called Bakugo by his first name, but also, he never removed my arm from his.

Mina leaned into Nova and whispered only loud enough for her to here, "you may not know this, but they hated each other a month ago."

"hm, interesting," was all Nova said to Mina. She actually did know very well how I had felt about Bakugo. I had sent her many ragging texts about the blonde-haired boy, but Nova knew me, and she knew that I wouldn't be able to try and not fix mine and Bakugo's relationship. She expected us to become friends at some point, but this was something different. She knew that I had pure intentions, but sometimes we can't help where are feelings go. She knew she needed to prove to me that boundaries needed to be set, before anyone's feelings got hurt.

Nova walked up to me and pulled me from Bakugo's arm smoothly, "Babe, let's dance. It's been forever." She whined dramatically. I laughed at her as she drug me over to the section of the living room dedicated to dancing for the night. One of our favorite songs came on so it was easy to start dancing around to it while singing the lyrics with it. Sometimes when I had fun with Nova, everyone else would disappear and any form of embarrassment or nerves would go out the window. That's what was happening now, and the energy was infectious. Mina, Toru, Momo, Ochako, Jiro, Sero, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Mineta joined in on our dancing.

As we were swaying and bouncing to the music, Nova started in on her plan. She went into the kitchen and took off her gloves. She was still wearing a tight long-sleeved shirt so she should be okay with brushing up against people in this tight and crowded space. She filled a glass with some water and put a napkin in the back pocket of her jeans. I kept my eyes on her curious as to what she was trying to accomplish. I was still able to banter with the people around me, I kept dancing while following her every move.

Nova casually walked around the party chatting with people and moving around the room. She would dance over to this group, say something, and dance over to the next. During one of these transitions she purposely danced over to Bakugo's group. On her way over she 'tripped' over her own feet and 'accidently' spilt the water all over him.

Bakugo bellowed in rage, "What the fuck blue haired…"

He was cut off from what I imagined to be a colorful new nickname for my best friend, "Oh my god, Bakugo. I am so very sorry." Nova pulled the rag from her pocket and started wiping him off with the napkin. He went to pull his arm away from her, but she grabbed it with her bare hands. No one could see but her eyes started to glow as she spoke soothingly to Bakugo. "Bakugo please. Let me clean up the mess I made." Bakugo wasn't sure why, but he let her keep hold of his arm and she continued, "Thank you Bakugo. It really means a lot to me to stay on good terms with you. I mean, you're in Mari's life now and I would like us to be friends too." With mention of my name, Bakugo's eyes drifted over to meet my worried gaze. I did not want my best friend to be the target of Bakugo's rage.

When our eyes met, I stopped dancing and mouthed, "All good?" With a worried expression. Bakugo sensed my stress and instantly felt bad for wanting to snap. He nodded reassuring me that everything was fine. During this whole interaction, Nova's hand was touching Bakugo's arm. Nova got all the answers she needed; her mission was complete. Watching her go back into the kitchen to retrieve her gloves, I decided to pounce on her and find out what she had discovered.

I walked up behind her as she was pouring us both another shot, "Oh god. That bad, huh?" She didn't say anything and just gestured for me to take the shot. With a heavy sigh, we threw the shots back.

"So.." She started, and I sucked in my breath. Not really sure why I was nervous anymore with my tipsy mind, "He for sure had a longing desire for you. That was clear the second I said your name." My eyes slid over to Bakugo who was yelling about nothing with Kirishima. I sighed heavily, and quickly took another shot. Nova had a debating look on her face, but finally just decided to say it, "But there's something else Marina."

"What do you mean something else?"

"Something more real."

"Oh my god, please don't say something dumb like love."

She laughed dryly and rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't know how to sense 'love' in that sense, and you know it. Lust, Longing, admiration, sure I can, but not 'love'."

"So, what did you sense."

"He respects the shit out of you." She looked me directly in the eye, "and for someone like Bakugo, that can be a very dangerous thing for you and Shoto." I started to panic and dart my eyes from Bakugo to Nova. Nova put her hand on my shoulder to calm me down, "But Marina. I can't blame him. I respect the shit out of you too." She smiled at me, squeezing my shoulder, and left the kitchen to go back to the party.

I was shaken by what she had just told me, but with my fuzzy brain I didn't really process what any of it meant, just that it meant a change in our relationship. Okay, Bakugo had a crush on me or something like that, but I was just starting to fall in love with Shoto. This brought my mind back to him, realizing that he still wasn't here. The party had started almost 2 hours ago, and he originally said he'd be here around when Bakugo came. I found my phone on the kitchen counter where I had to leave it due to the whole no pockets thing. There were still no messages or missed calls from him.

With a concerned look on my face I stomped out of my apartment's front door to go outside and call Shoto. It was a colder night and without the warmth of my apartment my dress did nothing to shield me. I shivered as my fingers clumsily found Shoto's contact information. I pressed the call button and put the phone up to me ear. I felt me anxiety rise with each ring. Why wasn't he here. What could possibly of come up. Was this not that important to him. I knew he was tired so maybe he just fell a sleep. My mind kept racing in. Jumping from one thought to the next.

I seriously felt like I had been on this phone call forever when the other line finally picked up, "Marina…" My heart thumped in my chest and the warm fuzzy feeling that Shoto always gave me took over my body. Before I could even respond to him or ask any questions a stern Shoto coldly said into the phone, "I can't make it tonight. Something came up. I'll see you on Monday." The other line went dead.

I just froze looking down at my phone. I was taken so off guard. Shoto hadn't spoke to me like that since we first met. It made me feel small and insignificant. There was a part of me that knew he had to have a good reason for it, but all my pervious insecurities with boys started to rush at me. I felt tears start to roll down my face and my body start to shake uncontrollably. I was fighting off the emotion and the cold.

I don't know how long I stood out in the cold staring down at my phone, but I was brought back to reality by a hand grabbing my shoulder. Before I could even react, I was flipped around and met with a furious red eyed glare.

Katsuki barked, "What happened?" I tried to blink away the tears in my eyes and put a fake smile on my face, but I was cut off yet again, "Marina, I'm not buying that shit. Who made you cry?" My fake smile faltered, and I felt the emotion rise in my chest. I couldn't say anything bad about Shoto to Katsuki out of this blind loyalty I felt for him. I just shook my head as more tears fell, and a sob broke from my lips. Katsuki growled, "I swear to god…"

Before he could finish the statement, I did the only thing I could do. I wrapped my arms around Katsuki and buried me face into his chest. The smell of his cologne and warmth of his body made me melt into him. I bit my bottom lip hard to keep from any sobs coming out. Katsuki was clearly caught off guard by my sudden vulnerability. He froze with his arms at his side. Not sure what to do in a time like this. His normal rough personality wasn't going to work.

We stood like that for a couple minutes and when it was clear that I wasn't going to let go until I controlled my emotions, he finally wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into a tight hug. I felt his chin rest on top of my head as he released a big sigh of frustration.

Not sure what to do with his hands, one stayed wrapped around me while the other found its way to the back of my head. His fingers combed through my soft blonde locks, calming me down. Before I got too comfortable however, Katsuki twirled a piece of my hair around his finger and suddenly tugged on it causing me to yelp and jump away from him. He had a smirk on his face as I pouted up at him.

"Okay that's enough Pigeon. Let's get your mind off this shit and get back to your party, yeah?" I shook my head laughing at him.

I finally had a genuine smile back on my face. I looped my arm through his like I had earlier that night and we started making our way back to my apartment. I found myself looking up into his red eyes once again and realized that maybe I was being a little selfish by leaning on Katsuki for support. It may not have been the best choice, but I decided to shrug it off. I knew what my intentions were and as they say, 'it takes two to tango.' Trying to push the thoughts aside, I started to lightly jog up to my apartment door bring Katsuki with me. Whether Shoto was here or not, I was going to enjoy myself with all my new friends, just for tonight.

_**END**_


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